Orangeburg County 

Economic and Social 



J. M. GREEN, JR. 
W. F. FAIREY, JR. 


University of Sonth Carolina 
June 15, 1923 


Bulletin University of South Carolina—Issued Semi-Monthly 
No. 124. June 15, 1923. Second Class Mail Matter 









V 



n 






Orangeburg County 

Economic and Social 



GREEN, JR. 
W. F. FAIREY, JR. 


A Laboratory Study in the Department of Rural Social Science 


of the University of South Carolina 

r Co \ U *m br ' 9 J 3 * C . jj 

June 15, 1923 







TABLE OF CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Preface . 5 

I. The Evolution of Orangeburg County . 7 

II. Orangeburg County Towns . 16 

III. Natural Resources and Industries. 29 

IV. Facts About the Folks . 40 

V. Wealth and Taxation . 46 

VI. Schools . 65 

VII. Orangeburg Agriculture. 66 

VIII. Balance Sheet in Food and Feed Production. 80 

IX. Evidences of Progress. 88 


X. 


Orangeburg County Problems 


103 




























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A Stretch of Hard-Surfaced Road between Orangeburg and Bamberg. 












PREFACE 


To attempt to take stock of the economic and social conditions 
in a county the size of Orangeburg is no small task. However, we 
have endeavored to analyze accurately the important phases of the 
life of the people of the county and its institutions. We are con¬ 
scious of many imperfections in the undertaking, but we are also 
aware of the fact that this is the most comprehensive study that 
has ever been prepared regarding the general conditions and prog¬ 
ress in Orangeburg County. A careful reading of it will be well 
worth the while of every thoughtful citizen of the county. 

We wish to acknowledge our indebtedness to Mr. A. S. Salley, 
Jr., for the historical sketch of the county. Everyone in the State 
appreciates the accuracy and thoroughness of his pen when dealing 
with anything concerning the history of South Carolina. 

We also wish to thank the following for the data regarding their 
respective towns: Mr. James H. Fanning, of Springfield; Mr. E. D. 
Whisonent of Branchville; Mr. James Owens, of Holly Hill; Mr. 
George E. Kelley, of Elloree; Mr. Harold Chaplin, of Neeses; Mrs. 
S. B. Cope, of Cope; and Mr. O. H. Hatchett, of Eutawville. 

Mr. L. S. Wolfe deserves our gratitude for his helpfulness to us in 
the collection of data relative to the activities of the Chamber of 
Commerce and the Farm Demonstration Work in the county. To 
the many other public-spirited men and women of the county, too 
numerous for mention, who so willingly furnished us with all of the 
information requested, we wish to express our appreciation. 

We wish especially to acknowledge our obligation to Dr. Wilson 
Gee, Professor of Rural Social Science at the University of South 
Carolina. This study was prepared in that department of the Uni¬ 
versity. Dr. Gee helped us throughout our work and had it not been 
for his untiring efforts and co-operation this bulletin would never 
have been possible. We are indebted to him for his suggestions, 
encouragement, and criticisms all along the course of its prepara¬ 
tion. 

The expense of publishing and distributing this bulletin was borne 
by the University of South Carolina. 

J. M. Green, Jr., 

W. Fletcher Fairev, Jr. 

University of South Carolina, 

April 20, 1923. 































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4 


I. 

THE EVOLUTION OF ORANGEBURG 

COUNTY. 


By A. S. Salley, Jr. 

Under instructions from the proprietors of Carolina to the Sur¬ 
veyor General of South Carolina, May 10, 1682', three counties were 
layed off in South Carolina shortly thereafter. These were: Berke¬ 
ley, Colleton and Craven counties. Berkeley lay between the 
Seewee 1 2 and Stono rivers and extended inland to the heads of 
the Ashley and Cooper rivers, or about thirty-five miles. To the 
westward of Berkeley was Colleton, and to the eastward Craven. 
For each of these counties the governor appointed a sheriff, who was 
the peace officer and judge for his county. Each county had a militia 
organization and each was a unit from which representatives were 
elected to the Commons House of Assembly. Neither of them 
included within its bounds any of the territory now included in 
Orangeburg County. 

In 1704 an act was passed by the General Assembly of the 
province dividing the inhabited portion of the province into par¬ 
ishes, but the act was vetoed by the Proprietors because not con¬ 
stitutional, but it was reenacted in 1706 with the unconstitutional 
provisions eliminated. One effect of this act was to disestablish 
the counties as political subdivisions of the province. Each parish 
was made a legislative and, to a limited extent, an executive unit. 
The militia organizations that existed in each county continued to 
occupy the same grounds and bear the names of the coun¬ 
ties. Notwithstanding the abandonment of the counties officially, 
the custom of describing lands as lying within one of these 
counties was adopted and, as the settlements extended into the 
interior of the province, the northern bounds of the former coun¬ 
ties were pushed back and the separating lines extended 
in indefinite fashion until they extended to the northernmost limits 
of the settlements. 

When settlers began to filter into the territory now embraced by 
Orangeburg County, at the beginning of the second quarter of the 
eighteenth century, the old eastern line of Berkeley County, extend¬ 
ing from Seewee inwardly about thirty-five miles, was lengthened 

1 Bri(ish Public Record Office, Colonial Entry Book, Vol. 20., p. 179. (Copy in 
office of Historical Commission of South Carolina.) 

2 No\v, and for over two centuries last past, known as Awendaw Creek. The bay 
into which this stream empties is still known as Seewee Bay. 




8 Orangeburg County: Economic and Social. 


until it struck the Santee River at its great bend just above Eutaw 
Springs, and then the river was followed up and, as the settlers 
pushed upward, the line followed the Congaree and, farther up, the 
Broad. At the same time and in the same manner the western 
line of Berkeley County was lengthened from the head of Ran- 
towle’s Creek, the headwaters of Stono River, to the Edisto River 
about where Four Holes Swamp enters it, then up the Edisto and 
the north fork thereof to its source. In the same manner the 
bounds of the other counties were stretched. Westward of the 
Edisto and its north fork was Colleton County. This extension or 
enlargement of the counties was done by the General Assembly 
merely for the purpose of describing the location of lands granted 
to settlers beyond the limits of the parishes. It furnished no other 
advantage to settlers. Those settlers who lived outside of the 
limits of the parishes had the privilege of voting for members of 
the Commons House of Assembly in the parish nearest to which 
they lived. What is now Orangeburg County lay partly within the 
imaginary county of Berkeley and partly within the imaginary 
county of Colleton. A small part of the territory now embraced by 
Orangeburg County lay within the bounds of St. James’s Parish, 
Goose Creek 1 , and a small part within the bounds of St. John’s 
Parish, Berkeley, and that little corner was annexed to the county 
from Berkeley County in 1910. 

The first official subdivisions that affected the territory which 
was subsequently erected into Orangeburgh District were four town¬ 
ships which were created under the terms of an act of the General 
Assembly, passed in 1730. This act directed that eleven townships 
be layed out in South Carolina for the encouragement of additional 
settlers. Each of these townships was designed to be promoted to 
a parish so soon as it should attain a population of one hundred 
families. All of them were layed off on the banks of rivers and 
most of them were named in honor of the Royal family of Eng¬ 
land: Kingston, Queenstown, Fredericksburg, Williamsburg, Amelia, 
Orangeburgh, Saxe-Gotha and New Windsor filling that description, 
while Purrysburgh, on the Savannah River, and two with fanciful 
names in what is now the state of Georgia, completed the eleven. 
The four townships in question were: Amelia, named for the 
Princess Amelia, daughter of the King (George II), lying on the 
west bank of the Congaree and Santee rivers; Orangeburgh, 
named for William, Prince of Orange, husband of Princess Anne, 
daughter of the King, lying on the east bank of the Edisto River; 


J So named to distinguish it from St. James’s Parish, Santee. Goose Creek flowed 
through the parish. The Santee formed the western boundary of the other parish. 



Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 9 


Saxe-Gotha, named for the wife of Frederick, Prince of Wales, who 
was a daughter of the Duke of Saxe-Gotha, lying on the west bank of 
the Congaree River; and New Windsor, probably named for Wind¬ 
sor, the home of the Royal family in England, lying on the east 
bank of the Savannah River. Only about one-third of New Wind¬ 
sor lay within the bounds of what later became Orangeburgh Dis¬ 
trict. The lands of these townships were granted out to settlers 
in the proportion of fifty acres for each member of a family. In 
each township there was a town layed off in streets, squares and 
lots and each settler was allowed a town lot in addition to his 
bounty land. 

Before 1735 a few settlers had established themselves in these 
townships, but in that year over two hundred settlers from Switzer¬ 
land located in Orangeburgh Township and for four or five succeed¬ 
ing years other immigrants from Switzerland and a few from Ger¬ 
many and Holland either joined the Orangeburgh settlers or jour¬ 
neyed on to the townships of Amelia, Saxe-Gotha and New Wind¬ 
sor. The men in these townships capable of bearing arms, were 
organized, as provided by the militia laws of the province, into such 
militia units as their numbers warranted; the Governor and Coun¬ 
cil, in naming Justices of the Peace for the province, named one or 
more for each township, and the Public Treasurer of the province 
was authorized to allot to each township its proportion of the public 
fund for parochial charges, that is to say, for securing religious ser¬ 
vices, for supporting the paupers and schooling the children of the 
poor, and that was the extent of local government in the town¬ 
ships. The courts for the whole province were held in Charles 
Town and all civil processes were recorded there. 

In 1765 the townships of Amelia and Orangeburgh, with a little 
additional territory, were erected into St. Matthew’s Parish, and 
the bounds fixed therefor were: a line from the plantation of Jared 
Nelson on the Santee River, inclusive, to the point where a road 
leading from the plantation of Tacitus Gaillard to the road con¬ 
necting Charles Town and Orangeburgh intersected the line 
between St. George’s Parish, Dorchester, and St. James’s Parish, 
Goose Creek, and thence along that line to its second inter¬ 
section of Four Holes Creek, thence up that creek to its intersec¬ 
tion of the southeastern boundary of Orangeburg Township; 
thence along that boundary line to the southward until it inter¬ 
sected the Edisto River; thence up the course of that river to where 
it was intersected by the northwestern boundary line of the town¬ 
ship; thence along that line northeastwardly to where it joined the 
southwest boundary of Amelia Township, and thence 


10 Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 


a line running northeasterly until it reached Beaver Creek; thence 
down the Congaree and Santee Rivers to the starting point. 

The act whereby this parish was established provided that it 
should have two representatives in the Commons House of the 
province, but this provision meeting with the disapproval of the 
Board of Trade in London, which feared that too great an increase 
of the Commons House would make it unwieldly, the act was vetoed 
by the crown. In 1768 the act was renewed with the provision as to 
representation so changed as to provide for but one representative 
from St. Matthew’s Parish and the reduction of the number of rep¬ 
resentatives from St. James’s Parish, Goose Creek, from four to 
three. The new act was allowed to stand. 

On April 12, 1768, the General Assembly divided the province into 
seven judicial circuits and provided for the establishment of courts 
and the construction of court houses and jails in each of them. One 
of these districts was Orangeburgh, which took its name from the 
town of the same name, which had long been the most considerable 
village in the territory layed off for the district, and which, under 
provision of the act, was made the seat of the district. The boun¬ 
daries of the district were as follows: a line from Nelson’s Ferry, 
on the Santee River, directly to Mathew’s Bluff, on the Savannah 
River, the Savannah River to Silver Bluff thereon; a direct line 
from Silver Bluff to the mouth of Rocky Creek, on Saluda River; 
thence in the same direction to the Broad River; the Broad River, 
Congaree River and Santee River to the starting point. 

Each of these districts had a clerk of court and a sheriff, appointed 
by the governor. These districts were only judicial subdivisions of 
the province. No records were kept therein save of the cases adju¬ 
dicated in the courts of common pleas and general sessions. All 
civil processes were returnable in and recorded in Charles Town. 
All wills, administrations, deeds, etc., were recorded in Charles 
Town, and the parish continued to be the unit of representation in 
the General Assembly. 

When the British Parliament passed the Boston Port Bill, by 
which the port of Boston was blockaded, in 1774, the people of the 
several American provinces were so outraged that mass meetings 
were spontaneously held in the various towns of the several prov¬ 
inces and general conventions were thereupon assembled in all of 
the provinces. The convention for South Carolina, which con¬ 
vened in Charles Town in July, 1774, was composed of volunteer 
delegates almost entirely from only the parishes of the province. 
It was thereupon proposed that a provincial congress be convened 
early in 1775, to be composed of delegates from every quarter of 


Orangeburg County: Economic and Social. 11 


South Carolina elected by the people at local elections. As the 
parishes all lay in the Low-Country, below the Fall Line, the British 
government having always discouraged the laying out of new 
parishes and enlarging of the membership of the Commons House, 
provision had to be made for establishing legislative units in the 
entire Up-Country and in certain portions of the Low-Country. The 
convention and the proposed congress being both extra-legal bodies 
(the entire population of the province still acknowledging allegiance 
to Great Britain) new parishes could not be established. The con¬ 
vention, therefore, divided all territory outside of the existing par¬ 
ishes into election districts, defined by natural or existing bounda¬ 
ries. Each of these districts was allotted representation according 
to estimated population. The first Provincial Congress, the first 
session of which met in Charles Town in January, 1775, was, there¬ 
fore, the first deliberative body composed of representatives from 
every section of South Carolina that had ever met therein, and the 
policy there and then established of having the parish as the legisla¬ 
tive unit for one portion thereof and the election district as the 
legislative unit for another portion thereof prevailed until 1865, or 
for ninety years. In addition to St. Matthew’s Parish, there were 
three of these election districts so inaugurated in 1774: Saxe-Gotha, 
which lay from the northern line of St. Matthew’s Parish to the 
Saluda River and from the Congaree to the north fork of the Edisto 
River, the lower district between the Broad and Saluda Rivers, and 
the district between the north fork of the Edisto River and the 
Savannah. 

On March 16, 1778, the township of Orangeburgh was cut off 
from St. Matthew’s Parish and erected into Orange Parish. The 
bounds of the new parish were: on the north, the northern boun¬ 
dary of Orangeburgh Township from the northwest boundary of 
Amelia Township to the North Edisto River; on the east, the 
boundary line between Amelia and Orangeburgh townships to its 
junction with Four Holes Swamp and that stream from that point 
to its intersection by the line between Charles Town and Orange¬ 
burgh Districts; on the south by the said line between Charles 
Town and Orangeburgh Districts and on the west by the North 
Edisto River. 

On March 16, 1783, a commission was appointed for each of the 
districts of the state to subdivide it into minor judicial subdivisions 
called counties, for the purpose of establishing courts of inferior 
jurisdiction therein. On March 12, 1785, an act was passed for lay¬ 
ing off the several counties and erecting the public buildings 
therein. Orangeburgh District was divided thereby into four coun- 


12 Orangeburg County: Economic and Social. 


ties; one, bounded by a line beginning at the point of intersection 
of the line between Charles Town and Orangeburgh Districts with 
Four Holes Swamp and following the main branch of that swamp 
to its head; from thence northwest 25° to Beaver Creek, and thence 
along the same to the Congaree River, thence down the same and 
the Santee to Nelson’s Ferry, and thence along the line between 
Charles Town and Orangeburgh districts to the starting point, 
known as Lewisburgh County; one, bounded by a line beginning at 
the intersection of the line between Charles Town and Orangeburgh 
districts with Four Holes Swamp and following the Lewisburgh 
County line to its junction with Beaver Creek; thence southwest 
54° to the road leading from Orangeburgh to Ninety Six; thence 
south to the head of Little Salkeliatchie; thence down that stream 
to the line between Orangeburgh and Charles Town districts; 
thence along that line to the starting point, called Orange County; 
one, bounded by a line beginning at the mouth of Beaver Creek, 
thence along the line of Orange County, thence southwest 54° to 
the road leading from Orangeburgh to Ninety Six, thence along 
that road to the line between Orangeburgh and Ninety Six dis¬ 
tricts, then following that line to Saluda River, and thence along 
the same line to Broad River, thence down the Broad and Con¬ 
garee rivers to the starting point, called Lexington County, and 
one, bounded by a line beginning at the junction point of the Little 
Salkeliatchie River and the Orange County line, thence along the 
line between Orangeburgh and Beaufort districts to the Savannah 
River, thence up that river to where it was intersected by the line 
between Orangeburgh and Ninety Six districts, thence along that 
line to the intersection thereof by the South Edisto River; thence 
down that river to Tyler’s Ferry, thence a direct line to the Salke- 
hatchie River, where the line between Beaufort and Orangeburgh 
districts intersects, to Orange County line, thence to the head of 
Little Salkeliatchie, thence down that stream to the starting point, 
called Winton County. 

By an act passed February 19, 1791, county courts were discon¬ 
tinued in Orangeburgh District, the records of the several counties 
were consolidated in the several offices of the districts and the 
counties passed out of official existence. 

On December 21, 1798, the nine judicial districts of which the state 
was then composed, were further altered and the state divided up 
into twenty-four districts. Orangeburgh District was divided into 
two districts: Orangeburgh and Barnwell. Barnwell District com¬ 
prised that part of the former Orangeburgh District which lay 
between the South Edisto River and the Edisto River and the 


Orangeburg County: Economic and Social. 13 


Savannah River. The rest of the original district remained as the 
new Orangeburgh District. 

Six years later, on December 21, 1804, an act was ratified by 
the General Assembly, by which another district was carved from 
Orangeburgh District. That portion of the former Lexington 
County lying north of the North Edisto River was erected into Lex* 
ington District. 

The constitution of 1868 changed the names of the districts to 
counties and made each county an election district. About this time 
also the final “h” to Orangeburgh was dropped in official records and 
in historical ignorance thereby legislated out of existence. 

By an act of the General Assembly, approved March 10, 1871, 
Aiken County, composed of parts of Orangeburg, Lexington, Barn¬ 
well and Edgefield Counties, was created; that part of Orangeburg 
County lying between the North Edisto and the South Edisto 
rivers and northwest of a line running in a direct course from the 
point of intersection of the Orangeburg and Lexington line with 
the North Edisto River to the head of Tinker’s Creek in Barnwell 
County. 

By an act approved February 14, 1908, Calhoun County, composed 
of parts of Orangeburg and Lexington counties, was established. 
To Calhoun was given that part of Orangeburg County lying east 
and northeast of a line beginning at the point of intersection of the 
line between Caw Caw and Elizabeth townships, with the line 
between Orangeburg and Lexington counties and following “said 
line southwest to the Joe Amaker old mill on Lime Stone Creek, 
then north forty-five east to Little Lime Stone, then same 
creek the line north to poplar on Robertson Plantation Road, then 
south 76° east to the Kennedy Road, crossing the Kennedy Road 
one-half mile south of Moody Godwin’s house, continuing the same 
line crossing the Columbia Road nine miles north of Orangeburg, 
continuing to the Southern Railroad crossing eight and one-half 
miles northeast of Orangeburg court house, continuing from said 
point on Southern Railway eight and one-half miles northeast of 
Orangeburg court house to a point on Four Holes Creek marked 
and designated by an ash tree X and witnessed by maple and gum 
trees, said line having the following course; S. 49° 00' E and being 
about 47,560 feet, thence the creek the line to the line of Jacob 
Riley, the said land line out to the State Road near Fred Dantz- 
ler’s, then the Dantzler land line to point on Haigler land line, 
Haigler’s land line, the line to public road, oak X 3 N near David 
Smith’s residence, said road the line to a branch southwest of 
T. V. Bair’s residence, then up said branch 40 chains to stake 


14 Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 


X 3 N, then northeast across A. C. L. R. R. to stake 66 feet from 
centre of track, then up the said right of way north 57%, west 120 
chains to stake on the Orangeburg Road 66 feet from center of 
A. C. L. R. R. track, Orangeburg Road, the line to the Monck’s Cor¬ 
ner Road, then north 73 east passing to the north edge of the old 
Santee Graveyard, continuing to a stake X 3 N north of C. W. Shu¬ 
maker’s residence, then south 67 east to a stake by road of Capt. 
George D. Rast’s estate land, then north 79° and 45' east to an 
oak on the road near Trinity Graveyard, then north 69 east to a 
stake on Two Chop Road by Neighborhood Road, intersecting on 
J. A. Johnson’s land, then south Two Chop Road the line to Little 
Poplar Creek, distance, 37 chains; then down the said creek the 
line to McCord’s Ferry Road, said road the line south 45° east, 209 
chains to Hydrick’s old mill on Big Poplar Creek, said creek the 
line to Santee River.” 

Up to the year 1910 Orangeburgh District and Orangeburg County 
had been losing territory by the formation of new districts or coun¬ 
ties, but in that year Orangeburg County acquired some additional 
territory. In the preceding year a part of Berkeley County, under 
authority of a provision of the constitution of 1895, voted to join 
Orangeburg, and by an act of the General Assembly, approved Feb¬ 
ruary 23, 1910, that election was ratified. By that act there was 
annexed to Orangeburg County “all of that certain territory or por¬ 
tion of Berkeley County embraced witliin the following lines and 
boundaries, to wit: Beginning at a point located on Four Holes 
Swamp at the intersection of the boundary lines of Orangeburg, 
Dorchester and Berkeley Counties, and extending in a southeasterly 
direction, along Four Holes Swamp, the same being the boundary 
between Dorchester and Berkeley Counties, to a large cypress which 
stands at the confluence of Four Holes and Dean Swamps, at the 
upper part of Turkey Lake; thence up and along the run of Dean 
Swamp as it meanders to a point where Dean Swamp and Black 
Creek unite; thence up Black Creek to the point where Big Black 
Creek and Little Black Creek unite; thence up Little Black Creek 
to the point where the “new road” crosses said Little Black Creek; 
thence northerly up the “new road” to the Monck’s Corner public 
road, near Mark Richardson’s place; thence north ten chains to a 
pine; thence north fourteen degrees east, 38 chains to a stake; 
thence south 37 degrees 15 minutes east, forty-nine chains to stake; 
thence east 9.70 chains to a stake; thence north 39.50 chains to a 
stake; thence north 87 degrees east ; thirty-four chains and ten 
links; thence north fifty-four and one-half (54%) chains to a 
stake; thence north 1 degree, 30 minutes west, eighteen 


Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 15 


chains and sixty links to a stake; thence north 8 degrees, west, eleven 
chains to a cypress at the river road and Rock Creek Bridge; thence 
northeast along Rock Creek to where Rock Creek empties into the 
Santee River; thence up the Santee River to the mouth of Eutaw 
Creek, where the Orangeburg and Berkeley lines connect; thence 
southwest along the boundary line between Orangeburg and Berke¬ 
ley Counties to the point of beginning.” 

Notwithstanding all of these gifts to new political units, Orange¬ 
burg is still one of the largest and most populous counties of South 
Carolina, under the census of 1920, ranking third in size, with 1,131 
square miles, and sixth in population, with a population of 64,907. 




I 


II. 

ORANGEBURG COUNTY TOWNS. 

W. Fletcher Fairey, Jr. 

Orangeburg. 

The City of Orangeburg is located in the north central portion 
of Orangeburg County, and is the largest town in the county. It 
is about seventy-five miles from the seacoast and is ideally located. 
The town has been made into a very pretty place, due to the efforts 
of its citizens. All of the important streets have been paved. The 
streets are pretty, being bordered in the residential portion by neat 
and well kept lawn& iShadei trees help further to beautify the resi¬ 
dential section. The entire town is kept in a clean and sanitary 
condition. The city has the commission form of government. 

The population of Orangeburg in 1920 was 7,290, giving it the 
position of the tenth largest city in the State. Orangeburg in 1910 
had a population of only 5,906, showing an increase of 1,384 during 
the past decade. The city is growing and is progressive. It is wide 
open at all times to receive new enterprises. 

As a distributing point for this section of the State, it is- sur¬ 
passed by none. The railroad facilities for commerce and travel 
are excellent, connections being made very easily with every sec¬ 
tion of the county and country. Within a radius of twenty-five 
miles of Orangeburg there are twenty-five or more towns varying 
anywhere from 100 to 3,000 people. The Southern Railroad runs 
through the town, as well as the Atlantic Coast Line. A branch 
line of the A. C. L. connects Orangeburg with Pregnalls and numer¬ 
ous other towns, mainly Holly Hill, Vance, Parler, Elloree and 
Eutawville. All of these railroads give quick and direct access not 
only to all of the important markets in this State, but to those of 
surrounding States as well. 

Orangeburg, being in one of the most fertile agricultural dis¬ 
tricts of the land, is naturally a shipping center for its numerous 
products. Large crops of corn, cotton, oats, wheat, rye, rice, pota¬ 
toes, peanuts, pecans and all kinds of truck are grown and shipped 
yearly. In the town there are located numerous manufacturing 
plants, consisting of cotton mills, fertilizer factories, wholesale 
drugs, ice, saw and planing mills, wheat mills, veneering factory, 
etc., which do a thriving business with the adjoining towns and 
country, all of which goes to prove that Orangeburg is ideally located 
as a distributing point. 



Orangeburg County: Economic and Social. 17 


Fire Department. 

Beginning with the organization of the Young America Fire 
Company in 1854, the fire department of the City of Orangeburg 
has kept pace with the changes in the years passed, and today boasts 
of a department second to none for the size of the city, and excell¬ 
ing many in communities larger than Orangeburg. 

Following the formation of the Young America Fire Company, 
the Elliott Hook and Ladder Company was organized in 1870. 
Later the East End Reel Company and Phoenix Reel Company were 
formed, the latter being a negro company. All of these companies 
are operating today and comprise the Orangeburg Fire Depart¬ 
ment. 

It takes but little imagination to realize what kind of apparatus 
the fathers of the present department used in the old days. There 
fore, an interesting comparison is presented when the apparatus of 
the department as it stands today is mentioned. All the equipment 
today is motor driven. The department has an American la France 
hose and chemical truck; an American la France pumper with a 
capacity of 1,000 gallons a minute and 300 pounds pressure; a Sea- 
grave hook and ladder truck with pumper, the latter having a 
capacity of 650 gallons a minute and 400 pounds pressure; and two 
motor hose trucks. 

A Gainewell fire alarm system is used in the city. It cost approxi¬ 
mately $40,000. There are 23 street fire alarm boxes and 26 tele¬ 
phone stations. 

The fire department is a semi-paid fire department. There are 
nine regular paid men who give all their time to the work. Besides 
there are 80 volunteer firemen, they being composed of members of 
the various companies forming the department. 

Herman G. Fischer, an Orangeburg boy, is chief of the depart¬ 
ment. He is a full time man and full pay is accorded him. Robert 
Hall is the assistant fire chief and is on part time and part pay. 
A. C. Watson, member of the city council, is, as such a member, in 
charge of the fire department and is known as the Fire Commis¬ 
sioner of the city. 

Orangeburg’s fire department has not been apart from the 
community life, but, on the contrary, has always been and still is 
one of the integral parts of the community. The city’s noblest 
men have been numbered in the ranks of the fire companies. The 
department is one of the revered and highly outstanding elements 
of the progress of the community. 

Firemen, white and black, have for years given their time and 
efforts toward the city’s welfare by fighting the fire demon. To 


18 Orangeburg County: Economic and Social. 


speak of the department, past or present, to an Orangeburger is to 
open a subject dear to the hearts of the entire community. 

Newspapers. 

Orangeburg has two good newspapers that do credit to the town 
as well as the county. The newspapers are The Times and Demo 
crat and The Orangeburg Sun. The Times and Democrat is pub¬ 
lished by J. I. iSims and edited by Henry R. Sims and A. T. Wanna 
maker. This paper is a tri-weekly and has wide circulation over 
town and county, as well as the adjoining counties. 

The Orangeburg Sun is edited by Hugo Sims and is a weekly 
naper. These are very creditable newspapers, not only to the peo¬ 
ple of the city, but county as well. Great interest is taken by both 
papers to keep the farmer supplied with the latest news in farm 
implements, development, and practices. 

One or two negro papers are also published. 

Orangeburg Hospital. 

The Orangeburg Hospital was started on September first, 1919, 
at a cost of approximately $40,000. The Orangeburg Hospital is a 
general hospital and has thirty-three beds. It has a daily average 
of about twenty-five patients. The medical staff is well trained and 
efficient. There are about sixteen nurses employed. For the care 
of colored patients there is a separate hospital building. The medi¬ 
cal staff consists of: 

Charles A. Mobley, M. D., Surgery; George M. Truluck, M. D.. 
Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Specialist; S. Hicklin, R. N., Anesthetist; 
B. Hughes, R. N., Roentgenologist; and W. Carroll, R. N. f Laboratory 
Technician. 


Water and Light. 

The Orangeburg Water and Light Plant is municipally owned. 
The plant is located on the Edisto River, which carries with it 
many decided advantages, such as circulating water for condensers, 
boiler feed water, and fire protection. The plant was built at a 
cost to the city of $200,000. Today the plant with its water and 
light distribution system is worth $450,000. This increase was 
added from earnings from the plant. The total revenue from sale 
of water and current in 1921 amounted to $94,622. 

The light plant is equipped with the most up-to-date apparatus. 
This equipment consists of one 600 k. w. steam turbine, and two 
300 k. w. generators directly connected to universal flow steam 


Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 19 


engines and two 500 h. p. Babcock and Wilcox water tube boilers 
equipped with modern improvements. 

The City of Orangeburg boasts of as fine a water as may be found 
anywhere. It is obtained from one ten-inch and three eight-inch 
flowing wells and comes from the Blue Ridge Mountains. It is 
clear and pure and does not require filtering. The State Board of 
Health Chemist examines it four times a year and his reports have 
always been favorable. 

The pumping equipment consists of duplicate, steam and electric 
pumping units with a combined capacity of 1,000 gallons per minute. 
Under normal conditions the city consumes 375,000 gallons of 
water daily, which requires the operation of only one-fourth of 
the capacity of the plant. In the city there are over 23 miles of 
4 to 12-inch water mains. 

The entire pumping capacity of the plant is connected to the 
Edisto River so that in case of fire the water is unlimited. This 
river supply has never been used and will be- used only in extreme 
emergency cases. 

Over $35,000 has been spent recently on storm sewers and $20,000 
on concrete culverts. In addition to the above there have been laid 
over 18 miles of sanitary sewers. 

Streets. 

Orangeburg is justly proud of the pavement that she has, for 
there is no doubt that she has as many miles of pavement as any 
other city her size. Over ten miles of pavement have just been added, 
and now there are only a few minor streets in the city left to be 
paved. Thirty miles of granite curbing have been laid along with 
twenty-five miles of paved sidewalks. Shade trees have been planted 
on a great many of the streets which gives to the city a decidedly 
improved look. For this street pavement, curbing, paved side¬ 
walks, light and sewerage extension over $650,000 has been spent 
recently, and another $100,000 is forthcoming soon for further 
extensions along the same'lines. 

All streets of the city are well lighted. Along two of them a 
modern white way extends with 133 ornamental poles of 400 and 
600 candle power lamps. This white way extends over a distance of 
16,000 feet, or approximately three miles. This was put up at an 
expenditure of $25,000. 

In connection with this modern white way the city passed an 
ordinance requiring the telegraph companies to remove all poles 
.and all merchants to remove all signs or ornaments of any descrip¬ 
tion that extended out over the sidewalk along the path of the 


20 Orangeburg County: Economic and Social. 


white way. iRy doing this it gives the white way its full glowing 
effect at night, and improves the looks of the streets by giving them 
a neat appearance. 


Health and Climate Conditions. 

The city is kept in a thoroughly sanitary condition by the city 
department of health. Every method and precaution is taken to 
prevent sickness, and as a result, there is very little of any kind 
there. Statistics show that the health of this section is as good 
as any portion of the United States. The climate is unsurpassed 
and as many days of sunshine are enjoyed as in almost any section 
of the nation. 


Elloree. 

Elloree, a progressive and wide awake town of 1,000 people, is in 
the eastern part of Orangeburg County on the Atlantic Coast Line 
Railroad from Creston on the main line, to Pregnalls on the South¬ 
ern from Columbia to Charleston. It is surrounded by some of the 
best agricultural lands in the State. 

All the grains, corn, wheat, oats, rye, barley, all leguminous crops, 
cotton, truck of every variety suitable for this latitude—all find 
their highest and most luxuriant growth and development in this 
favored portion of the county. Just prior to the arrival of the boll 
weevil the shipment of cotton in bales from Elloree amounted 
annually from 10,000 to 16,000. Elloree is known far and near as 
one of the best cotton markets in this section of the State. 

Two banks are located in the town of Elloree. The First National 
Bank of Elloree, strong and solid as a rock, has a capital stock of 
$50,000 all paid up and a handsome surplus of $35,000. These facts 
attest the efficiency of its force and its successful management. An 
annual dividend of ten per cent, is paid to the stockholders. This 
is the oldest bank in the town and it has done much to develop this 
community. By its strict adherence to sound and careful banking 
principles and its courteous treatment of all customers, it has 
gained and kept the confidence of its numerous friends. 

The Citizens’ Bank, organized in 1920 with a paid up capital of 
$25,000, though young in years, has a solid backing and has been 
successful from the start, and enjoys the confidence of its growing 
clientele. All customers of this bank are assured the most 
courteous accommodations and are extended all leniency consistent 
with sound and conservative banking. 

Three churches for the whites are in the town: Santee Baptist, 
Rev. W. A. Gaugh, pastor; Elloree Methodist, Rev. W. P. Way, 


Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 21 


pastor; Trinity Lutheran, Rev. R. R. Sowers, pastor. The colored 
residents have three churches whose pastors are doing a good 
work among their people. The relations of the white pastors towards 
them are cordial and sympathetic. 

The Elloree Graded and High School with an enrollment of over 
300 pupils is giving an admirable training to the youth of the town 
and surrounding country. 

The public spirited citizens of the town have long since organized 
a Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture and this wide awake body 
is doing much to promote the advancement of the town and com¬ 
munity in many ways. They stand solidly behind every enterprise 
established for the help of the town. P. P. Hungerpiller is Presi¬ 
dent, and Jas. T. Owens is Secretary. 

The Veneer Plant, under the management of T. L. Martin, is run¬ 
ning every day to catch up with its many orders. Their weekly pay 
roll turns loose a good sum that helps the merchants of the town 
considerably. 

The Elloree Cannery is another enterprise that has done and will 
continue to do great and beneficial services to the truckers in this 
community. J. K. Ulmer is President, and J. Y. Antley is manager. 
Each member of the directorate of ten has agreed to plant at least 
two acres in tomatoes, and these, supplementing the hundreds of 
acres of others planted in this section, promise to keep the canner 
busy during the entire season. 

The many acres of wheat planted in the surrounding section fur¬ 
nish something for the up-to-date flour mill located in the town 
to do. D. Evans Keller is Secretary and Treasurer and Thomas J. 
Wacter is General Manager. The plant has been thoroughly over¬ 
hauled and improved and the management promises satisfaction. 

The Saw and Planing Mill in the town, owned by Mike !BL Arant, 
furnishes all the lumber and building material that the town needs 
and does it promptly. 

The officers of the town are: Mayor, J. K. Ulmer; Wardens, J. S. 
Weeks, J. Y. Antley, J. H. Harbason, and L. Jacobs, with S. D. 
Berry, Clerk and H. Walter Bookhardt, Marshal. 

J. R. Bardin is Magistrate and Henry W. iBiallard is Constable 
and these two officers, with the town officers, keep a sharp vigilance 
upon the lawbreakers and are keeping the town as free from evil¬ 
doers and lawlessness as it is possible to do, making the quiet lit¬ 
tle town a model in this respect and one of the most law-abiding 
communities in the 'State. This one condition is a source of pride 
and congratulation to our entire people. 

With all these admirable conditions the town rejoices that it is 
one so favored and confidently looks to the future for a steady and 


22 Orangeburg County: Economic and Social. 


wholesome growth and assures all prospective settlers a most 
hearty welcome and promises them an atmosphere of law and order 
and insures peace and quietness and everything that makes life 
worthwhile. 


Cordova. 

Cordova is a small town of about 125 inhabitants on the Atlantic 
Coast Line Railroad, located five miles west of Orangeburg and 
two miles off of the State highway from Orangeburg to Bamberg. 
There is a good sand clay highway connecting the town direct with 
Orangeburg. The village is located on the ridge between the two 
Edisto Rivers and has good natural drainage. 

The business of this section is principally farming. There are 
three general merchandise stores there, but being so close to Orange¬ 
burg, they do not hope to develop in a comm&rcial way soon. 

Cordova is the center of a fine farming section, and is a distribut¬ 
ing point for the farm products, fertilizers, supplies, etc. All crops 
that grow in this section of the South do well on the soil. In the 
last few years there has been much interest shown in the develop¬ 
ment of livestock and poultry. Now, many of the farms in this 
section have only pure bred stock and poultry. 

School and church facilities of the community are good. They 
have a high school housed in a new $15,000 brick building. The Bap¬ 
tist Church is in town and the Methodist is only a short distance 
away. Cordova has good telephone and telegraph accommodations 
and telephones are connected at the Orangeburg exchange. 

The citizenship of the town and community is of a high order. 
Practically all the people' of the town and community grew up 
there. They are above the average in intelligence and social stand¬ 
ing. This section of the county has furnished more than her pro¬ 
portionate share of the county officers of Orangeburg County. There 
are doctors, trained nurses, teachers, preachers, army officers, and 
other professions represented in many parts of the United States by 
those who have gone out of this community. 

The hospitality and high ideals of the “Old South” are much in 
evidence in the homes of this section. This shows itself in good, 
well furnished homes, substantial meals, with abundance of good 
food, daintily served. 


Holly Hill. 

Holly Hill, the center of one of the most prosperous agricultural 
and lumbering communities in the State, is situated on the Pregnalls 
branch of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. The main street of 


Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 23 


the town is a part of the old, historic State Road, over which in 
the early days of our history the traffic from Virginia, North Caro¬ 
lina and the upper part of this State to Charleston passed. For 
over a century there has been a postoffice at Holly Hill, which took 
its name from the large number of holly trees that were to be seen 
in the community. Before the building of the railroad in 1886, the 
mail was brought out from Ridgeville three times a week. When the 
railroad was completed there was in what is now the town of Holly 
Hill only one residence, that of Mr. W. D. Gilmore. With the com¬ 
pletion of the railroad came the building of the town which was 
incorporated Dec. 19, 1887. The holly tree from which tradition 
has it, the town was named still stands near the sidewalk in the 
yard of Mr. W. D. Gilmore. In July, 1908, the straggling line of 
wooden buildings that lined State Street was swept away by a fire. 
They were soon replaced, however, by much finer brick buildings. 
The growth of the town has been steady since, and for two blocks, 
the street is lined with handsome brick business houses. The latest 
to be built is the First National Bank, costing $30,000, a building that 
would be a credit to any town in the State. 

The foundation of the community’s prosperity and wealth is a 
productive soil farmed by intelligent farmers. In addition there 
are a number of saw mills and lumber plants with pay rolls aggre¬ 
gating $16,000 monthly, which add materially to the wealth of the 
community. The Holly Hill Ice Company not only supplies the town 
with ice and electric current, but ships ice to nearby towns. 

In 1922 the town was drained in an effort to wipe out malaria. 
It is too early yet to say what the full benefit will be; but since 
the completion of the work the number of cases of malaria has 
greatly decreased. An efficient board of health is continuing the 
work of ridding the town of malaria and other preventable dis¬ 
eases. 

There are in town two active, organized churches, representing 
the Baptist and Methodist denominations. Educational progress 
has been commensurate with the increasing wealth of the com¬ 
munity, and today the Holly Hill High School is offering high school 
advantages to children from five school districts. With a teaching 
force of eleven and an enrollment of 292, the school is striving to 
lay securely the foundation of the future growth and prosperity of 
the community. 

Cope. 

The town of Cope was named for Mr. J. Martin Cope, a prominent 
and very influential citizen. The town was commenced in 1893, 
and was incorporated in the following year, 1894. 



24 Orangeburg County: Economic and Social. 


Cope is situated on the Augusta to Florence branch of the At¬ 
lantic Coast Line Railway, twelve miles west of Orangeburg, and 
nine miles east of Denmark, in the fork of the Edisto River. Around 
Cope is one of the finest agricultural sections of the county, and 
the farm land cannot be bettered anywhere in the State. More 
freight and express is handled from Cope than any town on the 
branch line from Sumter to Robins, Orangeburg and Denmark 
excepted. 

It has one Methodist Church, one Baptist Church, a fine graded 
school and an up-to-date modern two-story brick school building 
that is to cost between twenty and thirty thousand dollars, now 
nearing completion, several large general merchandise stores, a 
drug store, two ginneries, a saw mill, a modern garage, a telephone 
company, a flourishing bank, a board of health, a wide-awake town 
council and three R. F. D. routes. Cope has the distinction of hav¬ 
ing set in motion the great Rural Free Delivery system, as the first 
R. F. D. mail to be delivered in the United States after the system 
was enacted into law, started from Cope. Mr. John Tatum was the 
first carrier. 

In and around Cope is one of the most beautiful sections seen 
anywhere. The homes are unsurpassed by any other section of the 
country. The homes are beautiful and are equipped with all modern 
conveniences. The people of this section are not of the sluggish 
type; their farms and their homes prove this. 

Eutawville. 

Eutawville has a population of approximately three hundred, and 
is located on a branch line of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad run¬ 
ning from Pregnalls to Orangeburg. The town is about three miles 
from the Santee River. Three miles away is the great historic 
battleground where there was an encounter between the Americans 
and the British at Eutaw Springs during the American Revolution. 

The town has twelve general merchandising establishments, a 
bank, a good school and three churches—Methodist, Episcopal, and 
Baptist. The chief industries of the surrounding community are 
farming and lumbering. We find in and around this town the typi¬ 
cal “old plantation” homes of decades back. Several of the houses 
have been built more than one hundred years ago, and are still 
well preserved. The town of Eutawville is a thriving little town, 
and has made great strides forward in progress in the past few 
years. 


Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 25 


Neeses. 

In the year of 1889, J. W. Neese, while on a fishing trip on Black 
Creek, in Lexington County, fell asleep, and dreamed of a town; 
and this town was to be called Neeses. In the year 1890 Mr. Neese 
set out to make his dream come true. 

At the intersection of the Ninety-Six and Holman Bridge roads, 
Mr. Neese erected the first general merchandise establishment in 
this section. About this time the Seaboard Railroad from Columbia 
Savannah was being built, and came through the town. Mr. 
Neese at once set out to build a depot in order that the people could 
receive the benefits of the railroad. Many others joined Mr. Neese 
in this great movement, so they hired the first depot agent at a 
salary of $10 per month. 

As years rolled by, people from all parts of the State came to 
the town and made their homes there. In the year 1898 there were 
four stores and about ten homes. 

The people living there at this time were very eager for an edu¬ 
cation; so they built a school house made of logs, which had one 
teacher. This school only lasted for three months during the year. 
It continued like this for many years, until later; then had two 
teachers. A few years later the people built a better school house, 
until the present one was erected a few years ago. This building is 
of brick with all the conveniences necessary, and not only has the 
building improved from a log hut to a brick building, but from a 
one-teacher school to an up-to-date high school. 

The town is now thirty-three years old, has one bank, nine stores, 
one drug store, two physicians and about sixty homes. The expec¬ 
tation and hope of the community is to have one thousand by the 
next census. 


Branchville. 

The history of Branchville is unique, in that it is one of the old¬ 
est railroad towns in the United States, being a junction point on 
the railroad built between Charleston and Hamburg in 1830. 

Situated in the extreme southern part of Orangeburg County, and 
surrounded by low lands, the agricultural backing has, up until 
recently, not been equal to that of some of the other towns of the 
county. However, saw-milling and railroading have always kept a 
goodly sum of money in circulation, and this has naturally produced 
a thriving, progressive people. The chief industries of the people 
are farming, saw-milling and railroading. 




26 Orangeburg County: Economic and Social. 

Due to the undeveloped state of the surrounding farm lands, the 
growth of the town was, for a long time, somewhat slow. How- 
ever, the farmers have brought their lands to a high state of culti¬ 
vation, and this, coupled with the farsightedness of some of the 
progressive citizens, has caused a large increase in population. In 
the last ten years the population of the town has increased by more 
than 50 per cent. 

The town now boasts of good schools, good churches, conserva¬ 
tive merchants and bankers, its own electric light plant, and a fine 
drainage system. In spite of the ravages of the boll weevil, the 
present administration is planning to install a new drainage system, 
and in the near future they hope to have waterworks, a sewerage 
system and paved streets. 

The little town is proud of her war record, having met every call 
100 per cent. 

Springfield. 

The history of Springfield is a fairy tale, and this town, like all 
others, was built by “dreamers.” 

This immediate community was settled by Irish emigrants dur¬ 
ing the year 1756, and the settlers were largely mill men, who were 
engaged in building water mills, and sawing into lumber the vast 
yellow pine forests of this section. This lumber, and the squared 
timbers were rafted down the Edisto River to Charleston, and most 
of the old settlers became wealthy. They cleared their lands after 
removing the timber, bought slaves, and at the beginning of the 
Civil War, were veritable kings of the land. 

About the year 1833, the old Charleston-Hamburg (afterwards the 
South Carolina) and now the Southern Railroad, was commenced,, 
and the town of Blackville, situated in Barnwell District, was laid 
out, and remained the supply town for this section of Orangeburg 
County until the present town of Springfield was surveyed by Capt. 
John G. Guignard, in the month of January, 1887. After many sug¬ 
gestions, futile efforts, and vain attempts to get somebody else to 
build a railroad, about the twenty-first day of December, 1886, Major 
Spann Hammond, Capt. D. H. Sally, founder of the town of Sally, 
S. C., with Capt. H. H. Sally (not complimentary titles, but bestowed 
by the commanders of the Confederate Army), with Messrs. Nathan 
Porter, Patrick Porter, Capt. John G. Guignard, Matt Clark, Mil- 
ledge Gunter, and perhaps others, met at the home of Charles J. 
Stroman, Esq., and determined to build a standard gauge railroad 
from Blackville, running north, and chartered as “The Blackville, 
Alston and Newberry Railroad Company.” 


Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 27 


James H. Fanning was the secretary that wrote the minutes of 
that meeting in the home of that splendid old South Carolina gen¬ 
tleman, on the evening of December 21, 1886. Grading began in 
earnest during the spring of 1887, and numerous towns were pro¬ 
jected. A settlement with two or three stores was built where 
Springfield now stands; the first substantial building having been 
erected by Mike and Charles Brown of Blackville, and the name of 
Charles Brown, who made his home here for some years before 
going to the town of Barnwell, stands for all that is best among us. 

No child of princely parentage ever had more suggested names 
than did Springfield, as each landowner wanted the new town named 
for his family, as may be seen from the fact that Robert L. Miller, an 
enterprising boy, succeeded in getting a postoffice established, and 
having the government name the same “Millersville.” The friends 
of Philip Martin, a splendid gentleman, who contributed in lands 
more than all of the rest of the claimants combined, wanted the 
town named Martins, while James H. Fanning, with numerous 
members of The Irish Clan, wanted the town named “Porter,” as 
Nathan Porter spent a fortune and worked his two sons, J. A. Por¬ 
ter of Barnwell and N. D. Porter of Springfield, together with James 
H. Fanning, several years building the road. However, during the 
month of January, 1887, Capt. John G. Guignard was secured to 
survey the town, and on that day the various parties met to con¬ 
tend for their favorite name. During a lull in the heated argument, 
Captain Guignard suggested that as the town was being built in 
“Spring’s old field,” it be named Springfield, and so the infant town 
was named Springfield by Capt. John Gabriel Guignard, who made 
his home for fifty years near here, and late in life removed to his 
home near Columbia, where he died a few years ago, full of years 
and honored and loved by all who knew him. 

Today Springfield has two banks with combined capital and 
deposits in excess of a million dollars, owns its own telephone sys¬ 
tem, and connects with the Bell Long Distance System, owns a 
splendid water-driven electric light and power system, owns and 
operates the largest hog and peanut industry in South Carolina, hav¬ 
ing shipped from Springfield more than 100 cars of hogs during the 
past season, with 2,516 cars of lumber and logs. This was done 
in the face of the overwhelming devastation of the boll weevil dur¬ 
ing the years of 1921-1922. Springfield is in the extreme northwest 
corner of Orangeburg County, adjoining Barnwell and Aiken, forty- 
one miles from Columbia, 108 from Savannah, 103 from Charleston, 
and 43 from Augusta. 


28 Orangeburg County: Economic and Social. 


The town furnished more soldiers during the war of 1861-65, the 
Spanish-American War of 1898, and to the great World War of 1917 
than any other place with the same number of inhabitants. 

The Protestant denominations predominate here, with large con¬ 
gregations of Methodist and Baptist, a Lutheran Church and a 
Catholic Congregation. 

Springfield has a preponderating colored population, one that the 
best citizens are proud of, as they are the best negroes in the 
world. There is not, nor has there ever been, any race conflict at 
Springfield, and never will be. 

The town has two drug stores, twenty stores and shops, two 
banks, two physicians, two lawyers, two dentists, two resident white 
preachers, several colored preachers, and the very best high and 
graded schools in the country. Prof. A. P. Sites is headmaster, 
with an able corps of assistants. 

Although the town is 180 feet higher than the city of Orangeburg, 
Mr. B. F. Hill, of the Jennings and Hill Lumber Company, bored a 
flowing well on the ancestral Guignard plantation that gives a con¬ 
stant flow of considerable volume and force, lifting the water fifteen 
feet above the level of the land. 

Springfield is in the hill country, where baby’s cheeks picture the 
rose bud and flowers bloom all the year. Fruits and melons abound, 
and a reasonably happy and contented people may be found. 


III. 

NATURAL RESOURCES AND INDUSTRIES. 


James M. Green, Jr. 

Orangeburg County is in the south central part of South Caro¬ 
lina, and has an area of 1,131 square miles, being the third largest 
county in the state. The Santee River separates it from Claren¬ 
don County on the northeast; on the southeast it is bounded by 
Berkeley and Dorchester Counties; on the southwest by Colleton, 
Bamberg and Barnwell Counties; on the west by Aiken and Lexing¬ 
ton Counties, and on the north by Calhoun County. 

Orangeburg County is situated in the coastal plain section of 
South Carolina, about half way between the sea coast and the east¬ 
ern boundary of the Piedmont. The topography varies from rolling 
in the northern part to nearly level or flat in the southern part. 
There are no abrupt hills or conspicuous elevations. The county 
lies at a moderate elevation above sea level and conditions have, 
therefore, been unfavorable for the rapid development of tributary 
streams. The elevation ranges from 50 or 60 feet in the extreme 
southeastern corner to 200 to 370 in the northern part. 

Two simple topographic divisions are recognized in the county; 
hilly or gently rolling areas and level, flat, poorly drained pine wood 
areas. The rolling or better drained areas lie principally in the 
northern and northwestern part of the county, while the flat woods 
section lies principally in the southern and southeastern part. There 
seems to be no sharp line of demarcation between the two divisions, 
'and it is probable that there is no great difference in the age of the 
land surface of the two sections. 

The southern and eastern parts of Orangeburg County are very 
poorly drained. The streams are sluggish, having a very small 
gradient. Four Hole Swamp, with its tributaries, constitutes the 
drainage system of over one-third of the county. It has no definite 
channels, and at times the water in its tributaries may fill the 
swamp areas and cover the sections for miles around. The gen¬ 
eral elevation of the county drained by Four Hole Swamp ranges 
from 100 to 200 feet above sea level. The swamp areas along this 
stream are in places more than one and one-half miles wide. 

The northern and western parts of the county are well drained 
by the North Fork Edisto, and South Fork Edisto rivers, and their 
tributaries. Very little poorly drained land exists here. The stream 
channels are fairly well defined and in many places there is rela- 



30 Orangeburg County: Economic and Social. 


tively no swamp fringe to the streams. Especially is this true of 
the tributaries of the South Fork Edisto River in the western part 
of the county. 

The Santee River drains a narrow strip about three and one-half 
or four miles wide along the eastern boundary of the county. It 
has ho tributaries of any consequence. Sink-hole drainage has a 
part in the drainage of the section from Elloree to Ferguson. 

The general direction of flow of the streams is toward the south¬ 
east, the direction of the general slope of the surface. 

Soils. 

The soils of Orangeburg County are divided into twenty-seven 
classes. Including the per cent, of the area, the six leading classes 
in the county are as follows: Norfolk sandy loam, 41.5 per cent; 
Portsmouth sandy loam, 13.8 per cent; Norfolk sand, 12.7 per cent; 
swamp, 12 per cent; Orangeburg sandy loan, 4 per cent; and Nor¬ 
folk fine sandy loam, 2.9 per cent. 

The surface soil of the Norfolk sandy loam consists of a light gray 
to gray loamy sand, which grades into a pale yellow loamy sand 
at about five to eight inches. The typical subsoil, lying between 
twelve and eighteen inches below the surface, is a deep yellow or 
grayish yellow friable sandy clay, showing in local areas mottlings 
of red in the lower part of the three-foot section. 

The Norfolk sandy loam and its flat phase are the most extensive 
soils in the county, forming 41.5 per cent of the total area. The 
typical soil is widely distributed, but has its greatest development 
in the portion of the county lying west of Orangeburg. It is the 
principal type in this part of the county, and only gives way to nar¬ 
row areas of swamp along the streams and to areas of Norfolk fine 
and Orangeburg sandy loam. 

The elevation of this type ranges between 180 and 380 feet above 
sea level, the highest areas mapped being in the vicinity of Livings- 
ton, and the lowest near Eutawville. The type occupies gently 
rolling to undulating inter-streams areas, and is well drained. In 
places the type suffers from erosion. 

The Norfolk sandy loam is a strong, productive soil. Cotton 
yields from one-fourth bale to one and one-fourth bales per acre, 
varying according to the methods of cultivation and of fertilization. 
Commercial fertilizers are used in quantities ranging from 200 to 
1,200 pounds, the average application being about 600 pounds. Fer¬ 
tilizer mixtures of the formula 8-4-4 are popular. 

The surface soil of the Orangeburg sandy loam consists of a gray 
to a grayish brown loamy sand, which grades into a yellowish or 


Orangeburg County: Economic and Social. 31 


reddish yellow loamy sand or light sandy loam at about six inches. 
The typical subsoil, beginning anywhere between ten and fifteen 
inches, is a bright red friable sandy clay extending to a depth of 
three feet or more. 

The type is distributed through the northern and western parts 
of the county, the area of greatest extent reaching north from 
Orangeburg almost to the county line. Another area of considerable 
extent occurs just east of Snake Swamp along the Benneker Bridge 
Road. The type is associated more often with the Norfolk sandy 
loam than with any of the other types. 

This is one of the strongest soils in Orangeburg County. It is 
a soil suitable to a wide range of crops, but is at present planted 
principally in corn, cotton and oats. Cotton produces from one- 
half bale to one and one-half bales per acre. Corn and oats do 
well. On small areas alfalfa grows excellently. Vetch and crimson 
clover are grown with varying degrees of success. Large yields of 
cowpea hay are obtained. The farmers who practice deep plowing 
in the preparation of the seed bed for all crops have found it very 
effective in increasing yields. 

The soil is well suited to the growing of cantaloupes, as shown by 
actual experience in some adjoining counties, although very little 
of it is used for that purpose in Orangeburg County. The lighter 
phases may be used for peach growing, and there are many areas 
well suited to the location of orchards. 

The surface soil of the Portsmouth sandy loam consists of about 
six to eight inches of dark gray to almost black light sandy loam, 
which passes into a subsurface layer of light gray sandy loam. The 
subsoil proper, lying from ten to fifteen inches below the surface, 
'consists of a mottled gray and yellow, stiff, sticky, sandy clay. 

The type is very extensively developed, occurring in the east 
central and eastern sections of the county. It occupies characteris¬ 
tically flat and level areas and slight depressions, the latter repre¬ 
senting usually what are locally known as cypress bays or ponds. 

The surface drainage is generally very poor and artificial drain¬ 
age is essential for crop production. A few small areas of the type 
occur in the western part of the county, and are comparatively easy 
to drain, while those areas occurring in the Bowman section are 
often very large and the flat topography makes drainage difficult. 
Nevertheless, considerable areas of the Portsmouth sandy loam 
have been drained and are in cultivation, being utilized principally 
for cotton, corn, cowpeas and winter oats. The yields are usually 
good. Small garden patches are planted to cabbage and usually 
give very satisfactory yields. 


32 Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 


Swamp types include the low lying first bottom areas along the 
rivers and streams of the county. The soil material is so variable 
from place to place that no definite textural classification was 
deemed practicable. In many places the surface soil is a black 
sandy loam, while in others it is almost a muck, and the extreme 
range in texture is from a loose sand to a clay. The larger bodies 
of it are perhaps best described as a sandy loam or mucky loam. 
Especially is this true of the large areas along both forks of the 
Edisto River. 

The type is subject to heavy and protracted overflows and the 
greater part of it remains in a water-logged condition throughout 
the year. Some of it is covered with water continually. The char¬ 
acteristic vegetation includes gum, bay, cypress and maple, with a 
thick undergrowth of water-loving plants and vines, such as bam¬ 
boo and cane. No doubt many acres of the productive soil are 
included in the swamp, but the cost of reclaiming them by diking 
and pumping would be great. 


Climate. 

Orangeburg County has a warm and equable climate, the sum¬ 
mers being long and rather hot and the winters mild. The grow¬ 
ing season is long enough for maturing all crops. Cover crops, cab¬ 
bage, turnips, asparagus, and other crops can be grown during the 
winter months, and various kinds of farm work can be profitably 
carried on during this period. 

The last killing frost in spring occurs usually between March 13th 
and April 4th, and the first in autumn from November 4th to Novem¬ 
ber 17th. This gives a growing season of 222 to 249 days. 

The crops seldom suffer from drought, but are more likely to 
suffer from an excess of rain, especially in the Bowman section. 
The average rainfall for the growing season is about four and one- 
half inches per month. 

The following tables, compiled from the records of the Weather 
Bureau stations at Blackville and Trial, give the normal monthly 
seasonal, and annual temperature and precipitation. Blackville, 
which is located in Barnwell County, is about nine miles south 
of the South Fork of the Edisto River and about ten and one-half 
miles south of Springfield. The data for this place represent more 
nearly the climatic conditions of the northern part of the county 
than do those from the station at Trial, which is situated in Berke¬ 
ley County about three miles from the eastern boundary of the 


United States Government Fish Hatchery. 












Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 33 


county. While the records of this station apply to the southern 
part of the county, there is apparently little difference in the con¬ 
dition in different parts of the county. 


Normal Monthly, Seasonal and Annual Temperature and Precipita¬ 
tion at Blackville. 


Month. 

Temperature. 

Precipitation. 

1- 

Mean. 

Absolute 

Maximum. 

Absolute 

Minimum. 

Mean. 

Total amt. 

for the 

driest yr. 

Total amt. 

for the 
wettest yr. 

Snow, 

average 

depth. 


°F. 

°F. 

°F. 

Inches. 

.J Inches. 

] Inches. 

Inches. 

December __ 

46 

80 

14 

3.7 

4.7 

2.6 

0.1 

January _ 

46 

80 

12 

3.1 

2.4 

5.0 

0.2 

February _ 

46 

79 

—3 

5.0 

8.3 

6.5 

0.1 

Winter_ 

46 



11.8 

15.4 

14.1 

0.4 

March 

57 

91 

19 

3.7 

1.6 

2.0 

T. 

April . _ _ 

62 

95 

29 

3.5 

2.1 

2.4 

0.0 

May . 

73 

102 

42 

3.7 

1.5 

1.7 

0.0 

Spring ___ 

64 



10.9 

5.2 

6.1 

T. 

June __ _ 

80 

103 

42 

5.5 

5.6 

8.6 

0.0 

July _ 

82 

105 | 

57 

5.2 

6.7 

3.4 

0.0 

August_ 

80 

104 

54 

5.9 

2.7 

7.9 

0.0 

Summer __ 

81 



16.6 

15.0 

19.9 

0.0 

September ._ 

75 

100 

42 

4.0 

1.1 

2.5 

0.0 

October _ 

64 

95 I 

30 

3.1 

0.4 

9.6 | 

0.0 

November __ 

56 

85 

19 

2.0 

1.4 

2.5 | 

0.0 

Fall _I 

65 



9.1 

2.9 

j 

14.6 

0.0 

Year 

64 

105 

-3| 

48.4 

38.5 

| 

54.7 

0.4 


Average date of first killing frost in autumn, Nov. 17; of last in 
spring, Mar. 13. Date of earliest killing frost in autumn, Nov. 8; of 
latest in spring, Mar. 23. 























































34 Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 


Normal Monthly, Seasonal and Annual Temperature and Precipita¬ 
tion at Trial. 


Month. 

Temperature. 

Precipitation. 

Mean. 

Absolute 

Maximum. 

Absolute 

Minimum. 

Mean. 

Total amt. 

for the 

driest yr. 

Total amt. 

for the 

wettest yr. 

Snow, 

average 

depth. 


°F. 

°F. 

| °F. 

Inches, 

| Inches. 

| Inches. 

Inches. 

December __ 

48.2 

85 

10 

3.09 

4.60 

4.97 


January _ 

47.0 

82 

9 

3.67 

2.42 

0.93 


February _ 

47.6 

82 

—3 

4.07 

5.15 

0.62 


Winter 

47.6 



10.83 

12.17 

6.52 










March 

56 3 

95 

13 

3.46 

2.42 

3.13 


April 

61.4 

92 

26 

2.78 

3.89 

5.42 


May _ _ 

71.7 

97 

38 

4.55 

5.70 

6.31 


Spring_ 

63.1 



10.79 

12.01 

14.86 









June 

76.7 

99 

43 

5.73 

3.06 

7.16 


July 

79.1 

103 

54 

6.20 

3.54 

9.60 


August _ 

77.8 

101 

56 

7.82 

3.67 

15.20 


Summer 

77.9 



19.75 

10.27 

31.96 










September ._ 

73.5 

101 

39 

3.81 

1.67 

2.99 


October_ 

62.0 

91 

29 

2.94 

1.44 

4.90 


November __ 

55.4 

92 

13 

2.28 

1.06 

6.09 


Fall 

63.6 



9.03 

4.17 

13.98 










Year 

63.0 

103 

—3 

50.40 

38.62 

67.32 



Average date of first killing frost in autumn, Nov. 4; of last in 
spring, April 4. Date of earliest killing frost in autumn, Oct. 10; of 
latest in spring, April 28. 


Railroads. 

Orangeburg County is traversed by the three leadings railroads 
of the South, namely: the Southern, Atlantic Coast Line, and Sea¬ 
board Air Line. The central part of the county is traversed by the 
Southern Railroad running from Charleston to Columbia, Ashe¬ 
ville, N. C., and on to Cincinnati, O. The Atlantic Coast Line goes 
through the central part of the county, but runs east to west. 














































































Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 35 


This road extends from Atlanta, Ga., through Sumter to New 
York. The western part of the county is traversed by the Sea- 
'board Air Line running from Florida to New York. 

The town of Orangeburg is situated on the Southern and Atlan¬ 
tic Coast Line Railroads, and is connected with the Seaboard Air 
Line by the Orangeburg Railway extending from Orangeburg to 
North. 

The extreme eastern part of the county is traversed by a branch 
of the Atlantic Coast Line running from Orangeburg to Pregnall, 
where it connects with the Southern Railroad. There are few 
counties in the state that can boast of better railroad facilities 
than Orangeburg. 


Highways. 

The people of Orangeburg County were a little backward in 
realizing the vast importance of having good roads, but at present 
they are taking steps in the building of roads that will enable 
them to boast of some of the best roads in the state. Mr. J. W. 
Smoak of Orangeburg is chairman of the County Highway Com¬ 
mission, and has proved himself very capable by the consistency 
and efficiency which he has shown in this capacity. 

The farmers derive benefits from good roads that cannot be 
measured in dollars and cents. Just a few years ago a farmer 
carried to town three bales of cotton to the wagon and had a 
good load when he considered the terrible roads; today we see 
farmers carrying as many as eight and ten bales of cotton to the 
market on one wagon. In many places trucks with trailers have 
replaced the wagons. Good roads have increased the value of 
farm land, because they mean that the farmer has better access 
to market. 

According to information furnished by the officials in charge of 
road building in Orangeburg County, $151,341.22 was spent in the 
county in 1921 for the building of new roads and the improvement 
of old ones. This amount does not include the work done by the 
chaingang. To show that the people realize the vast importance 
of building good bridges in 1921, $81,000 was spent for the build¬ 
ing of permanent bridges. 

if we take into consideration all the work that was done in 
^•angeburg County in 1921 towards the improvement of roads and 
bridges, we find that approximately $300,000 was spent in the 
county, including the work done by the chaingang. 

For the first quarter of 1922, $103,090.15 has been spent on high¬ 
ways and permanent bridges. While this is greater than it was 


36 Orangeburg County: Economic and Social. 


for the same period last year, yet it does not include any work 
done by the chaingang. 

The mileage and extent of the roads developed as a result of this 
building program are as follows: Springfield to Neeses, eight 
miles; Orangeburg to Woodford, twenty-three miles; Orangeburg 
to St. Matthews, eight miles; Orangeburg to the state road, four¬ 
teen miles; state road going to Charleston, twenty-five miles; 
Holly Hill to Eutawville, seven miles; and Orangeburg, Bowman 
and Charleston, twenty miles. In addition to the above, thirty 
miles have been improved in various parts of the county. 

Additional contracts for fifty-three miles of highway will be let 
by the end of 1922, and among these is included two miles of hard 
surface road, which will be the first of this type of road to be 
built in Orangeburg County. Thisy will extend from the city 
limits of Orangeburg to the fork of the Ninety Six and Bamberg 
roads. 


Water Power. 

Orangeburg County, is drained by the Edisto and Santee Rivers. 
There is very little water power in the county for commercial 
use, because the county is below the fall line. A number of the 
smaller streams develop enough power to run a gin, a grist mill, 
or a saw mill. The Santee River is navigable to small vessels 
most of the year. 

Timber. 

There are 213,184 acres of woodland in Orangeburg County, 
according to the 1920 Census. This is 25.8 per cent of the total 
area of the county. Twenty-four counties outrank Orangeburg in 
this particular. The forests consist chiefly of long-leaf, short-leaf 
and loblolly pine. Small amounts of oak, walnut, gum, ash and 
yellow poplar are in the mixture of the hardwoods. 

No statistics as to the number of feet of merchantable timber 
specific for the county are available. The 1920 report of the State 
Commissioner of Agriculture gives $156,627 as the value of the 
annual lumber and timber products for that year. There are 
four industries in Orangeburg County which outranked the lumber 
business in 1920. 

It is interesting to note the timber situation in the state as a 
whole. In 1920 the United States Forest Service recorded 13,889,- 
800,000 feet as the stand of merchantable pine timber in South 
Carolina. The figure given for 1908 is approximately 45,000,000,- 
000. The decrease is readily seen to be a marked one. The an- 


Orangeburg County: Economic and Social. 37 


nual growth in the State is estimated to be 250,000,000 feet. Over 
the country as a whole, our consumption of timber is four times 
as great as our annual growth. At this rate, and it represents a 
conservative estimate, we are sustaining in this state a deficit 
of three-quarters of a billion feet annually. Such forest depletion 
will not allow many years until we shall have “killed the goose 
that laid the golden egg.” It is time we were taking intelligent 
steps towards the proper utilization or conservation of our forest 
resources. 


Industries. 

Orangeburg County is predominantly an agricultural county. 
Yet this has not kept the county from making some noteworthy 
progress along manufacturing lines in the past few years. 

In a brief discussion, as this must be, it is impossible to give a 
full account of the growth and importance of each of our indus¬ 
tries. For that reason, in addition to this, the reader will find at 
the end of the chapter a brief summary of all the industries of 
Orangeburg County. 

For the development of industries there are four things which 
are essential. They are: sufficient capital, available raw mate¬ 
rials, efficient workmen, and suitable transportation facilities. To 
a great extent Orangeburg County is able to offer all of these. 
According to the 1921 report of the Commissioner of Agriculture, 
Commerce and Industries, we had a total capital of $1,813,387 
invested in industries. 

Orangeburg County is located in the midst of the best agricul¬ 
tural section of the State, which point is well substantiated when 
we consider that we lead all the counties of the state in the pro¬ 
duction of cotton, corn, oats, and hay. Our cotton is sold on the 
local market to be shipped elsewhere to be manufactured into 
various products, while if we had more textile plants in Orange¬ 
burg County, a vast saving would be made in the transportation 
and other costs. 

Orangeburg County has transportation facilities to offer any 
manufacturing industry. The city of Orangeburg is located on 
the Southern Railroad and Atlantic Coast Line and the western 
part of the county is traversed by the Seaboard Air Line, which 
passes through the progressive towns of North, Norway, and 
Neeses. There is no reason why the manufacturers should not 
be able to import and export easily from all directions. 

It is interesting to note the progress Orangeburg County has 
made with regard to manufacturing industries when we consider 


38 Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 


that the value of the principal crops in 1920 was $12,180,447.62, 
while that of our manufactured products was $2,242,681. The 
value of all farm property in the county is $45,680,128, while the 
capital stock of our manufacturing industries is $1,813,387. 

The rural population of Orangeburg County is 57,617, or 88.8 
per cent of the total population, while the urban population is 
7,290 or 11.2 per cent of the total of the county. 

Santee Mills. 

The Santee Mills were organized in 1900 as the Orangeburg 
Manufacturing Company. This mill was incorporated in 1917 and 
began business on May 1, 1917, with a capital stock of $450,000. 
Mr. J. H. Cope is president. The mill has 14,848 spindles, con¬ 
suming 2,000 hales of cotton annually and employing approxi¬ 
mately 150 people. This mill manufactures sheeting. The output 
is 900,000 pounds, or 5,700,000 yards. 

Orangeburg Cotton Mills. 

The Orangeburg Cotton Mills are not incorporated, but have a 
capital of $75,000. Mr. W. W. Wannamaker is president. This 
mill has 5,300 spindles, employs 100 people and has an an¬ 
nual output of $1,500,000. Twine, warp, and rope are manufac¬ 
tured here. 

Williams Fertilizer Company. 

The Williams Fertilizer Company of Norway was organized in 
1913 by B. B. Williams and S. S. Williams, with a capital stock 
of $50,000. This factory employs 25 people and has an annual out¬ 
put of 4,000 tons. 


Carolina Packing Company. 

The Carolina Packing Company was organized in 1917 as the 
Orangeburg Packing Plant, but after reorganizing, the name 
was changed to the Carolina Packing Company, with a capital of 
$500,000. Orangeburg is becoming a livestock center, but never 
before had been able to boast of a packing plant, though it was 
much needed for the coastal section of the State as a whole. This 
plant is prepared to handle 1,500 cattle and 45,000 hogs annually, 
with an approximate value of $600,000 in dressed products. 


Orangeburg County: Economic and Social. 39 


SUMMARY OF ALL INDUSTRIES IN ORANGEBURG COUNTY 

FOR 1921. 


Compiled from Report of State Commissioner of Agriculture, Com¬ 
merce and Industries. 


Industry 

\ 

Capital. 

Value of 

annual pro¬ 

ducts. 

No. persons 

employed. 

Estimated 

annual 

wages. 

Boxes and Baskets 

$86,677 

$65,307 

41 

$12,383 

Carriages and Wagons 

1,100 

5,000 

2 

1,500 

Electricity_ 

147,300 

111,752 

24 

19,652 

Fertilizer 

164,700 

366,749 

50 

7,989 

Flour and Grist Mills 

17,300 

6,675 

6 

1,791 

Ice 

100,000 

20,000 

14 

7,800 

Lumber and Timber 

106,803 

156,627 

89 

33,009 

Mineral and Soda _ 

716,857 

206,219 

41 

26,785 

Textile 

369,550 

1,085,89! 

268 

142,800 

Oil Mills _ 

103,100 

218,461 

53 

22,,729 

Total_ _ 

$1,813,387 

1 

$3,242,681 

588 

$276,438 
























FACTS ABOUT THE FOLKS. 


James M. Green, Jr. 

This chapter is an attempt to weigh the most important facts 
available concerning the folks themselves, composing the popula¬ 
tion of Orangeburg County. The data are largely derived from 
the Fourteenth Census of 1920. 

The attention of the reader is directed to the table at the end of 
this chapter, where the statistics on which the discussion in this 
account is based are to be found in compact form for ready refer¬ 
ence. 

Population. 

The total population of Orangeburg County in 1920 was 64,907; 
the figure in 1910 was 55,893. These data indicate an increase of 
9,014, or 16.1 per cent during the last decade. The density in popu¬ 
lation for 1920 was 57.4 people per square mile, in which respect 
the county ranks seventeenth among the counties of the state. 

In 1920 there were in Orangeburg County 22,060 white and 42,- 
718 negroes, constituting a negro majority of 20,658, or a ratio of 
approximately two negroes to one white. The percentage of whites 
was 34.2, and 65.8 per cent represents the negro population. 

Orangeburg is the largest town in the county, the population, as 
given in the 1920 census, being 7,290; the population in 1910 was 
5,906, showing an increase of 1,384, or approximately 23.4 per cent. 

Orangeburg County also shows some improvement in the rural 
population. During the decade from 1910-1920, there was an 
increase of 15.3 per cent in the rural population. The rural popu¬ 
lation per square mile was 49.4 in 1910 and 57.4 in 1920. These 
figures show an increase of 8 persons per square mile. 

In 1910, 89.4 per cent of the total population was rural, and 88.8 
per cent of the total population was rural in 1920. This shows a 
relative decrease in the last ten years of 0.6 per cent in the rural 
population. 

The actual increase in the urban population for the same period 
was 23.4 per cent, while the increase in rural population was 15.3 
per cent. 

These figures are very important, for, just at this time there is a 
great tendency for the population to move towards the cities. There 
can be but one explanation of this fact, and that is because the 



Orangeburg County: Economic and Social. 41 


country does not offer advantages comparing favorably with those 
of the city. We are not trying to discourage the growth of our 
cities, but we cannot afford to see the cities grow at the expense 
of the country, upon which the world is dependent for its food sup¬ 
ply. 


Illiteracy. 

One of the most serious and vital problems before the people of 
South Carolina is illiteracy. According to the Fourteenth Census 
of 1920, which is the best authority on this subject, 18.1 per cent of 
the people of South Carolina are illiterates. Only one state in 
the Union has a greater amount of illiteracy, and this is Louisiana, 
with 21.9 per cent. The same authority gives the number of white 
illiterates, ten years of age and over in the State of South Carolina 
in 1920 as 6.5 per cent. In this respect South Carolina ranks 
forty-third, or sixth from the bottom. 

Similar conditions exist in Orangeburg County, but not to quite 
so marked an extent. Our illiterates ten years old and over in 1920 
numbered 8,248, or 18 per cent. They consist of 591 whites and 
7,655 negroes. The percentage of white illiterates is 3.7, while the 
percentage of negroes is six and one-half times as great, or 25.7 per 
cent. Nearly eleven hundred children between the ages of seven 
and thirteen, or 12.4 per cent of this age group were not in school 
in 1920. 

Five and three-tenths out of every one hundred of our native 
white male voters cannot read their ballots or write their names. 
Only nine counties of the State make a better showing than Orange¬ 
burg in this respect. The average for the State is eight and six- 
tenths out of every one hundred; therefore, our county has 3.3 per 
cent, less illiterates than the average for the State. 

Birth Rate Exceeds Death Rate. 

The following figures will go to show that health conditions in 
Orangeburg County are not what they should be. The death rate 
for 1919 was 14.2 per thousand population. We ranked fifteenth in 
this respect among the counties of the state. The average for the 
State in the same year was 13.66 per thousand. Taking the above 
figures as a basis, you can readily see that our county is above the 
State average in the rate of deaths per thousand. 

This is partly due to the fact that Orangeburg County’s popula¬ 
tion is largely composed of negroes, and it is a known fact that 
negroes are more susceptible to disease. However, the above 


42 Orangeburg County: Economic and Social. 


figures are not due to this one condition alone. There is much ill¬ 
ness that could be prevented by the greater care of the individual 
and greater cooperation with the health authorities. 

What does this go to show? It shows us that the people are 
ignorant when it comes to the proper methods of preventing dis¬ 
eases; also, that we do not have the proper amount of cooperation 
between the people and the health authorities. 

Now is the best suited and most opportune time for the county 
health officers, working in connection with the State 'Btoard of 
Health, to render a great service. A fact worth noticing is that a 
large percentage of the deaths which occur are those of babies 
under one year of age. This may be due to two causes: first, the 
ignorance on the part of the mother; or, second, to unsanitary and 
improper care of the baby. 

What we need is a corps of efficient public health nurses, under the 
supervision of the county health officer, whose duty it shall be to 
travel over the county instructing and advising the young and the 
old in all matters pertaining to good health. 

We can readily see that the solution of this high death rate prob¬ 
lem is up to the people of the county; unless there is cooperation 
between the health authorities and the individuals it will continue 
to rise. What are you going to do to improve this condition? The 
answer to this vital question is left to the people of the county. 

In comparison with the death rate it is interesting to note the 
birth rate. Orangeburg County ranked seventh among the coun¬ 
ties of the state in births, with 31.7 per thousand, or a total of 1,988 
for 1919. In this connection it might be well to mention that our 
birth rate exceeds our death rate by 17.5 per thousand population, 
or, that our birth rate exceeds the deaths by 1,098. 

Church Membership. 

Orangeburg County ranked fourth among the counties of the State 
in church membership, with 92 per cent of its population ten years 
old and over members of some church. That is, only eight persons 
out of every one hundred are not members of some church. We 
are 18 per cent above the state average in church membership. 
This is a fact that we can well be proud of, but not too proud to 
work for a goal of 100 per cent church membership. 

The authority for these statements is the 1916 Census of Religious 
Bodies, the latest government report on church membership. The 
total church membership in Orangeburg County in 1916 was 35,958. 
Of the total population ten years old and over, only 3,265 were not 
church members. 


Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 43 


The distribution of this church membership for the whites was 
as follows: Methodist, 5,950; Baptist, 5,480; Presbyterian, 135; 
Episcopalian, 130; Roman Catholic, 91. The negro membership 
was: Baptist, 11,758; Methodist, 11,259; Presbyterian, 32. 

Our Foreign Born. 

In 1910 our foreign born population numbered only 129, or about 
two-tenths of 1 per cent of our total population. Of this number 
20 came from England, 23 from Germany, and 22 from Russia. 

A Farming People. 

The people of Orangeburg County can be considered as almost 
entirely an industrious farming people. In 1910 about 89 per cent 
of our total population were farmers. From 1910 to 1920 the rate 
of increase in the rural population was 15.3 per cent, and that of the 
urban was 23.4 per cent. The 1920 figures show that approximately 
89 out of every 100 people in our county live in the open country 
or in towns of less than 2,500 inhabitants. In other words, accord¬ 
ing to the census classification, 88.8 per cent of the population of 
Orangeburg County is rural. 

The present density of rural population is 50.9 per square mile, 
in which respect twelve counties rank higher than Orangeburg. 

The average size farm in the county in 1920 was 58 acres. This 
means, on the whole, relatively small farms and a fair density of 
population. We must recall that the majority of these are negroes, 
and that the white population in the county is far from being 
developed to the point where there is anything like the satisfying 
social life that there should be in the rural communities. It is quite 
natural for country people to like to have neighbors nearby. The 
monotony of country life caused, in many instances, by the lack of 
association and the unprofitableness of farming has been a great 
factor in drawing many people from the country to the adjacent 
towns. This tendency to urbanization is not so true with Orange¬ 
burg County as with many other counties of the State. 

A large number of the landowners have quit their farms and 
moved to town, leaving their lands to be operated by tenants; 65.9 
out of every one hundred farms in the county are operated by ten¬ 
ant farmers. Everything possible should be done, first of all, to 
make the landowners live on and operate their own farms; and, 
second, to help the thrifty white tenant farmer to secure the posses¬ 
sion of his own farm. We shall never make the economic and 
social progress that we should in the county until this situation is 
met fairly and squarely. 


44 Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 


Facts and Figures About Orangeburg County Folks. 

Rank in important particulars. The rank at the left margin indi¬ 
cates the number of counties that make a better showing. Except 

where otherwise indicated, the figures are for 1920: 

3rd—In total land area in square miles- 1,131 

Berkeley County is the largest county in the state with 
an area of 1,238 square miles; Cherokee is the smallest, 
having an area of 373 square miles. The total area of 
the state is 30,495 square miles. 

6th—In total population _ 64,907 

Charleston County ranks first with 108,450 inhabitants; 

Jasper County comes last with a population of 9,869. 

The total population of the state is 1,683,724. 

13th—In density of rural population per square mile_ 50.9 

Spartanburg County, with a rural population of 93.6 
per square mile, ranks first; Jasper County comes last 
with a density of only 16.6 in rural population per 
square mile. 

31st—In the percentage of the population that is negro._ 65.8 

Pickens County is first with 17.4 per cent; Beaufort is 
last with 78.4 per cent. The figure for the state is 
51.4 per cent. 

4th—In the percentage of the population ten years of age 

and over that are church members, 1916_ 92 

Barnwell County comes first in this particular. Colle¬ 
ton comes last with only 54 per cent of its population 
10 years of age and over church members. The state 
average is 74 per cent. 

4th—In native white illiteracy, per cent_ 3.8 

Abbeville County ranks first, with only 5.3 per cent; 
Chesterfield County is last with 13.3 per cent. The 
average for the state is 6.5 per cent. 

19th—In percentage of total illiteracy_ 18 

Pickens County ranks first with a per cent of only 10.7. 
Berkeley comes last with 38.4 per cent of its population 
illiterate. The state average was 18.1 per cent. 

6th—In native white illiterate males 21 years of age and 

over, per cent_ 4.6 

Charleston County ranks first with 1.7 per cent; Ches¬ 
terfield is 46th with 17.3 per cent. The average for the 
state is 8.5 per cent. 










Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 


llth—In native white illiterate females, 21 years of age and 

over, per cent_ 

Calhoun County ranks first with 1.7 per cent; Chester¬ 
field is last with 18 per cent. The average for the 
state is 8.1 per cent. 

15th—In death rate per 1,000 population, 1919_ 

Richland County, with 26.1 deaths per 1,000 population 
has highest death rate. Colleton County has fewest 
deaths, 7.4 per 1,000 inhabitants. The state average is 

13.6. 

7th—In birth rate per 1,000 population, 1919_ 

Horry County ranks first with 39.1 births per 1,000 popu¬ 
lation. Colleton County has fewest with only 18.2. -The 
state average is 27.1. 

27th—In homicides per 100,000 population, 1921_ 

Dorchester ranks first, with no homicides in 1921; 
Bamberg comes last with 62 per 100,000. The total 
number of homicides in South Carolina in 1921 was 
247. In Orangeburg County there were 10 homicides. 






v. 

WEALTH AND TAXATION 


James M. Green, Jr. 

The wealth of Orangeburg County is rather well distributed over 
the county. In 1910, the Comptroller General reported the total 
taxable property in Orangeburg County as $8,398,090. Assuming, as 
does the State Tax Commission, that this is 42 per cent of the 
actual value of that property, the true value would be $19,995,452.38. 
In 1920 the State Tax Commission reports $14,719,310 as the 
assessed value of all taxable property in the county. If this is 42 
per cent, the actual value is $35,045,952.38. These figures indicate 
an increase of 75 per cent in the total taxable property in the 
county during the past ten years. 

According to the United States Census of 1920, the total value 
of all farm property in Orangeburg County was $45,680,128. The 
1910 figure was $17,531,673. The discrepancies between these 
figures are a reflection on the taxation system in the state. It is 
unfortunate that we are unable to secure more reliable figures on 
total wealth; but the fault lies in the inadequate, obsolete system 

of taxation in South Carolina, and not with those who enforce it. 

/ 

Per Capita Wealth and Gains. 

The total wealth of a county is not as good a criterion as the 
per capita wealth. The measure of uniform prosperity is the 
amount of wealth each individual actually possesses or has the 
use of. 

We shall consider only the question of per capita country wealth. 
This figure is secured by dividing the rural population into the total 
value of all farm property. 

The per capita country wealth in Orangeburg County in 1920 was 
$792.99. In this respect the rank was 12th. In 1910, the figure was 
$350. This shows an increase of 127 per cent. The figure of $793 
appears large when contrasted with the $290 per capita country 
wealth of Charleston County, but it is pitifully small when com¬ 
pared with the $5,577.18 per capita in Iowa. The average for the 
United States is $1,836. 


Banks 

In 1919 we had 22 banks in Orangeburg County, five national and 
seventeen state, with total resources of $12,161,103.59. In 1914 we 



Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 47 


liad 20 banks, one national and nineteen state, with total banking 
resources of $3,131,154.34. As may be readily seen, the figures give 
an increase of 291 per cent in our banking resources during the last 
five years, or a per capita increase from $48.24 in 1914, to $187 in 

1919. 

The increase in capital has not been so great. In 1919 the figures 
show a total capital of $974,624.55, and for 1914 a capital of $559, 
500, or an increase of 74 per cent. 

In a comparison of the savings for these two periods, only the 
state banks will be considered; for the report of the National 
Comptroller of the Currency on the condition of national banks dQes 
not include this item. For the seventeen state banks in 1919, the 
savings amounted to $1,878,665.26, and for the nineteen state banks 
in 1914, $910,098.91, or an increase of 106 per cent in five years. 
During this period the per capita savings increased from $14.02 to 
£28.94 in the county. 

In regard to loans and discounts for the same period, we find in 
1919 a total of $7,151,873.92, while in 1914, the total was $2,718,- 
840.62. These figures indicate an increase of 159 per cent. 

In other words, an increase of 291 per cent in total resources has 
been effected on a 74 per cent increase in capital. This increase in 
banking cannot be attributed to the increase in population alone, 
for from 1910 to 1920, our population increased only 16.1 per cent, 
while our banks increased 74 per cent in capital stock; 159 per cent 
in loans and discounts; and 291 per cent in banking resources. 

The total resources of the banks in South Carolina were $297,- 
936,000 for 1919, and $124,934,202.57 in 1914. These figures show an 
increase of 140 per cent for the State, while Orangeburg County 
increased in this same period 291 per cent. 

Comparing loans and discounts, the figures for the State in 1919 
are $180,625,000, and in 1914 are $92,881,502.29, or an increase of 
100 per cent. Orangeburg County increased in loans and discounts 
159 per cent. 

Some one has said that a man’s use of money is the “final touch¬ 
stone of character.” The above saying might well be applied to 
the life of a county. In this connection it is well to remember that 
the wealth retaining capacity of a people is what counts more than 
the wealth-getting activities. The figures given above go to show 
that while times were prosperous the people of Orangeburg County 
were putting aside a nest egg. This is what has saved us in the 
present period of depression. If more money had been invested 
as wisely and consequently, not in luxuries and extravagance, our 
people w r ould now be very much better off. 


48 Orangeburg County: Economic and Social. 


Automobiles. 

In 1920 there was one automobile to every 15.9 inhabitants in 
Orangeburg County. In this respect Orangeburg ranks twelfth, 
while Marlboro ranks first, with one auto to every 12.3 inhabitants. 
The average for the State is one automobile to every IS inhabitants, 
while in 1919 it was one car to every 23 people. 

Let us assume the average value of these cars in that year as 
$1,100. Orangeburg County, with her 4,071 cars, had invested in 
1920 in cars as first cost $4,478,100. 

Based on the state government tax of 1-8 cent per gallon and a 
per car consumption of gasoline, we used 1,787,983 gallons last 
year. If we take 32 cents a gallon as an average value, we spent 
$562,154.56 in 1920 for gasoline, and automobiles used most of this. 

Rating the average number of miles per gallon as 13, there were 
23,243,779 miles travelled on this gasoline. Ten cents a mile would 
be a conservative estimate for the operating expense of a car, this 
to include gasoline, tires, repairs and depreciation on car. Using 
this as a basis, it would indicate that it cost the people of Orange¬ 
burg County $2,324,377.90 to operate their cars during the year 
1920, or a cost of $570.96 per car. This represents an average ex¬ 
penditure of $35.81 per capita per annum. This estimate is based 

on the total population, and includes car owners as well as those 

> 

who do not own a car. 

The report of the Superintendent of Education for 1920, estimates 
the value of all school property in Orangeburg County at $372,610, 
or about one-twelfth the value of the automobiles. The total expen¬ 
diture in Orangeburg County for schools in 1920 was $177,596.64, 
or, in other words, we spent in 1920 about thirteen times as much 
on automobiles as we did on schools. 

These figures go to show that we are able to spend much more for 
the education of our children, and thereby place our money in an 
investment which yields an ever increasing dividend and which 
knows no depreciation. 


Farm Tenancy. 

One of the fundamental disabilities of Orangeburg County is 
farm tenancy. Orangeburg County in 1920 ranked twenty-eighth 
among the counties of the State, with 65.9 per cent of all farms 
operated by tenants. Out of the 8,558 farms in the county, 5,644 
are operated by tenants. 

The state of South Carolina has an average of 64.5 per cent of the 
farms operated by tenants, as the 1920 census report shows; so 


Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 49 


Orangeburg County, with 65.9 per cent of her farms operated by 
tenants, is even higher than the state average in this regrettable 
particular. Only two states in the Union have a greater percentage 
of tenancy than South Carolina, namely: Mississippi, with 66 per 
cent, and Georgia, with 66.6 per cent. 

If we consider the state as being divided into two sections, the 
Piedmont section and the Coastal Plain section, most people would 
think of the low country as having the greatest amount of tenancy, 
but statistics do not prove this. The opposite is true. The greatest 
amount of tenancy is found in the upper part of the State. 

Tenancy is not a good thing for a county, because it shows that 
we have a drifting population. It stands to reason that we will 
always have a certain amount of tenancy and a small amount is 
not a bad thing for a county. Longer leases should be made in 
order to try to get the tenant to stay on one farm a greater number 
of years. If we do this we will in an indirect manner be improving 
the land and the farming conditions, because if a person knows he 
is to live on a certain tract of land a period of four or five years 
he will take more interest in the affairs about him and thus make a 
more productive farmer. 

Some intelligent and practical steps should be taken to reduce 
the amount of white tenancy. With as much unimproved land as 
there is in Orangeburg County, and in other counties of the State, 
every thrifty white tenant farmer should be enabled by state or 
federal aid, if necessary, to become a land-owning farmer. Such a 
step would greatly add to the material wealth of the State, and add 
infinitely to the stabilizing and strengthening of rural community 
life. 

Farm Mortgages 

In 1910, 8.8 per cent of all white owner-operated farms and 27.8 per 
cent of all negro owner-operated farms were covered by mortgages, 
while 10.8 per cent of the total number of farms in the county were 
mortgaged farms. There were * ^8 farms with mortgage debts. 
The value of the land and the farm property on these farms was 
$2,311,228, while the amount of the mortgage debt was only $561,- 
987, or about 25 per cent of the total value of land and buildings. 

Conditions sometimes make it necessary for a farmer to mort¬ 
gage his property; a mortgage may mean capital bonowed foi pio 
ductive purposes, that is, more land, better buildings and equipment. 
Very often a farmer is willing to mortgage his property in order to 
indulge in some of the luxuries of life. For the past few yeais a 
great many farmers have been mortgaging their piopeity in ordei 


50 Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 



to buy automobiles. This is a very bad practice. The farmer who 
mortgages his property to ride in an automobile is riding fast from 
farm ownership to farm tenancy. This tendency to ride in automo¬ 
biles bought with a mortgage on property is noticeable in Orange¬ 
burg County. In the State our investment in automobiles is five 
times as great as our investment in schools, while Orangeburg 
County has twelve times as much invested in automobiles as we 
have in schools. 

Taxation. 

No doubt the people of our state will admit that the question of 
taxation is one of the biggest problems our Legislature will have 
to consider during the next several years. It is a problem that every 
civilized nation has been confronted with, and few, if any, of them 
have perfected it to their satisfaction. There are those, however, 
who have solved the problem much more satisfactorily than the 
people of South Carolina. It will not be my purpose to go into 
the tax question in detail, but to only give some facts and figures 
that will put the people of Orangeburg County to thinking of the 
problem more seriously. It might be well to say here that the con¬ 
ditions we find in Orangeburg are more or less the state of affairs 
in each county of the State. 

The present tax system and no other is authorized by the Consti¬ 
tution of 1895, and though only 27 years old, has already proven it¬ 
self inadequate to provide for a fast growing society. The law 
requires that all property, real, personal-and possessory be listed 
and returned, assessed and taxed at the actual or true value in 
money. That this provision is in practice a dead letter is so well 
recognized by everybody in the state, that the State Tax Commis¬ 
sion in 1915 found it necessary to recognize this fact officially and 
openly proceeded with the equalization of assessments on a 42 per 
cent basis. While this is not in accordance with the Constitution 
of 1895, it is a measure to which the State Tax Commission has to 
resort to get funds to run the State. 

It is the belief of many of our citizens that when taxes become a 
burden to the people of the State, in many cases, the taxing system 
is wrong. This is exactly what has happened to the people of our 
State. This is so simply because the burden of taxation has not 
been placed where it belongs. The reason it has not been is due to 
the present state tax law. 

From a report made by a special committee appointed in 1920 by 
the General Assembly of South Carolina to make a thorough study 
of the tax situation in the State and to make recommendations for 


Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 51 


a solution thereof, we find that out of 640 tracts of land sold in 
South Carolina between July, 1917 and February, 1918, the assessed 
value for taxation was less than 30 per cent of the consideration 
paid. We have every reason to believe that the property in 
Orangeburg County is returned on the same basis. And yet we 
wonder why we have such high tax rates and still not raise suffi¬ 
cient revenue to meet the increased demands of the government. 
In addition to this a large amount of personal property, both tangible 
and intangible, which constitutes a large part of our wealth, and 
from which a large part of our taxes should be derived, does not 
find its place upon our tax books at all. The land owners in Orange¬ 
burg County, as in the other counties of the State, bear the bur¬ 
den of taxation simply because the man whose wealth is composed 
of personal property can keep it off the tax books and the land- 
owner cannot. And the present tax law in the State makes such a 
state of affairs possible. Absolutely no provision is made for the 
classification of property, and until this is done, the greater part 
of the intangible property will be left off the tax books. 

The special committee mentioned, after studying the tax condi¬ 
tion in the state from every angle, came to the conclusion “that 
there can be no sound, sane, thorough-going reform of the tax sys¬ 
tem of South Carolina until the constitutional restrictions upon the 
powers of the General Assembly in relation to the general property 
tax are removed. Any improvement in method of assessment or in 
administrative machinery is just one more patch added to our tax 
system. The institution of new methods of raising revenues might 
result in some temporary relief from the present strain upon the 
frame of a tottering structure. All such devices are but props to 
keep the house from falling when the foundation has rotted away. 
The only sensible course is to rebuild the foundation.” 


52 Orangeburg County: Economic and Social. 


Facts on Wealth and Taxation. 

4th—In value of all farm property in 1920-$45,680,128 

Anderson first, with $61,635,823; Jasper last, with 
$4,255,029. 

12th—In percentage increase in farm wealth, from 1910- 

1920 _ 160.6 

Georgetown first, with 245 per cent. State average, 

143 per cent. 

1st—In cotton production for 1920, bales_ 93,000 

Beaufort 46th, with 400 bales. 

10th—In cotton production per acre, (pounds)__._ 279 

Marlboro first, with 336 pounds. 

16th—In value of crops per acre_ $37 

Beaufort leads with $72 per acre. 

7th—In per capita crop values_ $187.66 

Calhoun first with $234.01. 

25th—In capital invested in textiles, 1920_ $279,700 

Spartanburg first with $20,886,724. 

24th—In value of textile products for 1920_$1,296,005 

22nd—In number of textile establishments_ 2 

Spartanburg leads with 31. 

6th—In total value of all property in 1920_$35,045,900 

Charleston leads with $89,464,800. 

10th—In increase in taxable property, 1910-1920 (per 

cent) _ 75.26 

Florence first with 124 per cent increase. Average 
increase for the state, 60 per cent. 

28th—In per capita wealth, 1920_ $539 

Richland leads with $891 per capita; Horry last 
with $354 per capita. Average for the state, $594. 

27tli—In tax rate per $100 assessed valuation, 1920_ $2.85 

Pickens leads with $4; Beaufort last with $2. 

16th—In general tax levy; state, county and school 

(mills) - 28 M» 

Pickens first with 40 mills. State average 29 2/5 
mills. 

13th—In average special levy, not including principal 

cities (mills) _ 8 2/3 

20th—In average county levy, not including principal 

town districts (mills) _ 37 1/6 

Dillon first with 4914 mills. 


















Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 53 

Hth In percentage that negro owned farms are of total 

farms_ 13 

Dillon 46th, with 2 per cent. 

13th—In per cent mortgaged farms are of total farms.__ 8.1 

Marlboro 46th with 2.6 per cent. 

15th—In percentage increase of hogs, 1910-1920_ 94 

Anderson leads with 276 per cent. 

29th—In per cent that non-food crops are of total crop 

values in 1920 _ 79 

Marlboro 46th, with 89 per cent. 

28th— In per cent of negro farms mortgaged_ 27.8 

Beaufort leads with 1.4 per cent. 

11th—In per cent of white farms mortgaged_ 8.8 

Beaufort, with 1.8 per cent, leads in smallest num¬ 
ber of white farms mortgaged. 

1st—In value of non-food crops, 1920_$18,216,362 

Jasper 46th with $471,371. 

6 th—In total banking resources, 1919_$12,161,106 

Charleston leads with $48,792,245. 

13th—In total banking resources per capita, 1919_ $187 

Richland first with $453. 

6 th—In total capital stock of banks, 1919_ $974,625 

Charleston first with $2,500,000. 

6 th—In surplus funds, 1919 _ $559,526 

3rd—In savings deposits, 1919_$1,878,665 

Charleston leads with $12,467,969. 

25th—In banking resources per capita, 1914_ $52.22 

14th—In loans and discounts per capita, 1919- $110.00 

Richland leads with $232. 

9th—In savings per capita, 1919- $29.00 

Charleston first with $115. 

6 th—In surplus per capita, 1919- $9.00 

Charleston leads with $21. 

6 th—In total loans and discounts, 1919-$7,151,874 

Charleston leads with $24,766,630; Jasper last 
with $94,555. 

11th—In population per bank, 1920- 2,822 

Hampton first with 2,172; Jasper last with 9,868. 

14th—In per cent of farm land improved- 58.1 

Barnwell first with 68.4 per cent. 




















54 Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 


6 th—In number of automobiles and trucks, 1921- 3,451 

Greenville first with 7,508. Total for state, 90, 

546. 

17th—In number of inhabitants per automobile, 1921_ 18.8 

Greenville first with 11.8. State average, 18.6. 

7th—In value of farm implements per acre improved 

land_ $9.79 

Anderson first with $11.69; Barnwell last with 
$3.84. State average, $7.77. 

16th—In value of all school property_ $362,310 

Greenville first with $2,568,374; Jasper last with 
$38,042. 

37th—In per capita investment in school property_ $5.75 

Florence first with $29.07; Fairfield last with $2.77. 






VI. 

SCHOOLS. 

James M. Green, Jk. 


Importance of Education 

The greatest retarding factor in the progress of South Carolina 
is the low standard of education possessed by the average citizen 
of the State. Unfortunately, Orangeburg is no exception to the 
rule among the counties in our commonwealth. The magic of an 
educated, thinking people will turn sand into gold. If this has been 
true in the history of civilization, how much more so will it be 
true in the development of a county possessed of the potentialities 
Orangeburg County. 

It is the prime object of this chapter to try and show the people 
of Orangeburg County the need for better schools and where we 
lag in that regard. Some of the facts set forth may be astounding, 
nevertheless they represent conditions as they actually exist. It is 
hoped that as a result of this discussion our people will realize the 
vast importance of having suitable schools where the citizens of 
tomorrow may be taught in the way they should grow up. 

To accomplish the high goal set forth will take considerably more 
money for providing better teachers and better schools properly 
equipped and located with due regard to economy and convenience 
to the people they serve. The enlightened and enthusiastic sup¬ 
port of all the citizenship of the county is the only agency that can 
and will bring about the desired result. We need improved educa¬ 
tional facilities, material and spiritual, and all our young people 
taking advantage of them. Let’s every one pull together and make 
Orangeburg lead the state in educational advance. 

Rank of Orangeburg County Schools in State and Nation 

In the past many figures and facts have been gathered with a 
great amount of accuracy with regard to educational facilities that 
the different states offer. A very comprehensive method of indicat¬ 
ing school conditions and tendencies has been worked out by the 
Department of Education of the Russell Sage Foundation by means 
of the index number, which is a well established statistical device 
commonly used for measuring changes in wholesale and retail 
prices and rates of wages over long periods of time, and can denote 



56 Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 


conditions and cost of education over a period of years very 
effectively. 

The ten sets of educational data that have been considered in the 
table below are usually adopted for inclusion in an index number. 
Increases in them reflect improved educational conditions, and 
decreases reflect worse conditions. Like the stock prices, they can 
all be measured in terms of a theoretical par value of 100, and 
because of this, they can be combined in an index number that is a 
direct average instead of a relative percentage. 


Index Figures for Orangeburg County Schools: 1910 and 1920. 



White 

White 

Colored 

Combined 

Combined 


1910 

1920 

1920 

1910 

1920 

1. Per cent of school population 






attending daily 

49.6 

81.45! 

70.66 

55.4 

74.13 

2. Average days attended by 






each child of school age_ 

52.1 J 

53.93 

28.27 

44.3 

36.29 

3. Average number of days 






school was open _ _ 

52.5 

66 

31 

40.0 

60.55 

4. Per cent that high school at- 






tendance was of total at- 






tendance 

6 .S6 

26.79! 

0 

6.86 

9.24 

5. Per cent that boys were of 






girls in high school 

*73.41 

76.93 

0 

*73.41 

76.93 

6 . Average annual expenditure 






per child attending_ 

16.09 

26.67 

1.96 

6.89 

10.42 

7. Average annual expenditure 






per child of school age_ 

7.99 

21.79 

1.38 

3.81 

7.76 

8 . Average annual expenditure 






per teacher employed 

16.60 

30.19 

6.77 

11.24 

21.20 

9. Expenditure per pupil for 






other than teacher’s salary 

1.05 

11.48 

.20 

.47 

4.08 

10. Expenditure per teacher for 






salary _ __ 

31.08 

49.04 

12.84 

20.92 

34.12 

Index figure for Orangeburg 






County _ _ 

30.72 

44.43 

15.30 

26.30 

33.47 

State index 


1 _ 


24.87 

29.39 


1 




♦Percentage for state used here asj the percentage for county could not 
be obtained. 


























Orangeburg County: Economic and Social. 57 


South Carolina ranks 52nd in the matter of education, with an 
index number of 29.39. Montana leads with 75.79. Orangeburg 
County s schools have an index number of 33.47 and are thus above 
the general average for the state. Were the average for the state 
equal to that of Orangeburg County, South Carolina would rank 
46th instead of 52nd in the list of states^ while a state average of 
44.43, or the average for Orangeburg County’s white schools, would 
bring South Carolina to the rank of 36th instead of 52nd. 

Consolidated Schools 

The proper advancement of our schools is not only a question of 
more money, but one of the proper expenditure of the money which 
we have. As civilization progresses we learn different methods and 
policies as to the best ways of obtaining the highest efficiency in 
our schools. 

In the past, with our scattered population and poor means of 
transportation, the popular idea was to bring the school to the 
child, regardless of the result to the community. As' a consequence 
of this idea, we have a large number of one-teacher schools. In 
spite of the realization of the inefficiency of the one-teacher schools 
and the advantages of the consolidated schools, we have not been 
able to rid ourselves of the former. At the present in South Caro¬ 
lina 40 per cent of the schools are one-teacher schools. Orange¬ 
burg, with a rank of 19th, is above the average for the State, with 
only 34 per cent of its white schools one-teacher schools. 

Some one has said: “The average farmer and rural teacher 
think of the rural school as a little house, on a little ground, with a 
little equipment, where a little teacher, for a little while at a little 
salary, teaches little children little things.” 

According to the last report of the State Superintendent of Edu¬ 
cation, out of a total of 2,305 white schools, 915 were 1-teacher 
schools, 620 were 2-teacher, and 324 were 3-teacher schools. Ex¬ 
pressed in percentage figures, approximately 40 per cent, of our 
white, schools employ one teacher; 67 per cent have two teachers 
or less; and 81 per cent have three teachers or less. 

The situation in Orangeburg County is as follows: Out of a 
total of 68 white schools in the county, 23 are one-teacher schools, 
16 are 2-teacher schools, 10 are 3-teacher schools, and 19 are 
schools with more than three teachers. 

The county making the best showing in this respect is Dillon, 
with only 4 per cent of its schools one-teacher affairs; Darlington 


58 Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 


ranks second with 7 per cent; Florence third with 17 per cent; and 
Spartanburg fourth with 18 per cent of its white schools one-teacher 
affairs. 

The county with the worst showing is Georgetown, where 76 per 
cent of the white schools employ only one teacher; Berkeley has 
72 one-teacher schools out of every hundred, and there are some 
six or more other counties that do not widely differ from these 
distressing figures. 

In our conception of the modern state, its most priceless posses¬ 
sion and basic fabric is the individual citizen, and the child of today 
is the citizen of tomorrow. 

With this idea in view, the education of the child is of most fun¬ 
damental and far-reaching importance, it matters not whether that 
child is urban or rural. 

And the fact that a child happens to have been born in the coun¬ 
try should be no reason why he is not provided with as good an 
education as the child in the city. His rights are of equal import¬ 
ance with those of the urban child; it is as much the duty of the 
state to provide the country boy and girl with superior educational 
facilities as it is for the city boy or girl to possess these advant¬ 
ages. 

This situation becomes more imperative in a state like South 
Carolina, where 82.5 per cent of our population is rural, and where 
approximately 74 out of every 100 of our people live on the farm. 

It is well to recall that the white rural illiteracy in South Caro¬ 
lina in 1920 was approximately three times as great as the white 
urban illiteracy. 

The matter is of vital import to the city, also; for in considera¬ 
ble measure the city recruits its forces from the ranks of the coun¬ 
try. To be sure it more often takes the best equipped in the coun¬ 
try ranks, so it should not demur at the additional expense 
incurred to properly educate the country child. 

In a study of a typical up-country rural community, it was found 
that of the white owners operating their own lands, over 62 per 
cent of these finished their education below the 8th grade, and in 
the case of the white tenant approximately 80 per cent finished 
below high school, the majority of these not having completed the 
fifth grade. 

There is a menace in this situation and it is the menace of ignor¬ 
ance. It will continue to retard and hazard the progress of our 
civilization until the issue is squarely met. 


Consolidated Schoo 1 at Cordova. 




















■ 









' 










■ 






































Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 59 


The most practical solution of the country school situation lies 
in the consolidated school. Consolidation in its best form takes 
place when schools are not forced to close for lack of students, but 
are deliberately abandoned for the purpose of creating a larger 
school where more efficient work may be done, or the same work at 
a diminished cost. 

Former Commissioner of Education, P. P. Claxton, had the fol¬ 
lowing to say regarding the consolidated school: 

“The improvement and consolidation of rural schools and the use 
of such schools as rural social centers have a marked influence 
upon the prosperity and intellectual development of the people who 
live in the country. The movement in this direction has only 
begun, and its continued progress is dependent in a large meas¬ 
ure upon the improvement of highways and highway transportation. 
Better roads are essential to better rural schools.” 

The way is being blazed by such counties as Dillon and Darling¬ 
ton. If one South Carolina county can practically eliminate one- 
teacher schools, why cannot all of them do so? We have resources 
enough in South Carolina to provide good schools for all our people, 
and it is short-sighted policy when we do not. If constitutional 
restrictions limiting amounts of revenue are in the way of adequate 
state appropriations and equalizing funds, we should remove them 
and not only offer but require every boy and girl to have a good 
grammar school education; and place within the easy reach of all 
good high school facilities. 

It is hoped that we see the light through the clearing, and that at 
no distant date the one-teacher schools of Orangeburg County will 
have given way to the consolidated schools, carefully located and 
provided where necessary with motor transportation. In this way 
the inequalities of educational advantage existing between the 
country and city bred boy and girl will be in considerable measure 
levelled up for the rural inhabitants. 


Attendance 

During the school year of 1919-1920 we had enrolled in the schools 
of Orangeburg County 19,811 children of school age. Of this num¬ 
ber we had an average daily attendance of 13,453, or, in other words, 
32 per cent, of the pupils were absent every day, and that is to say, 
that approximately every third desk was vacant every day. This 
shows us that our school system is defective and not functioning as 
it should. 


60 Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 


As long as we have an undue number of absences in a school 
that school will never attain the degree of efficiency which it should 
have to be a successful school. 

Absences mean a loss to the pupil who is present as well as to 
the pupil who is absent, for a great number of absentees will tend 
to retard the progress of the class. Absences mean a financial as 
well as an intellectual loss. In Orangeburg County during the year 
1919-1920 we spent $177,225 for the development and upkeep of our 
schools. During this period 32 per cent of the children on whom 
this money was spent were absent. That is, we spent $55,712 on 
our schools but this amount did not benefit the pupils. It was abso¬ 
lutely wasted. 

The remark is often heard that much of the public funds is 
wasted or unwisely spent. By having 32 per cent of the children 
absent, we can readily see where $55,712 was spent last year that 
availed us nothing, or, in other words, it was wasted. This waste 
should be avoided by seeing to it that the children attend school 
regularly. We should not allow such a condition to continue, look¬ 
ing at it from any standpoint, because it is detrimental to the child 
as well as to the county. From the observation of educational sta¬ 
tisticians we have learned that a person has an earning capacity in 
direct proportion to the time spent in school. 

During the scholastic year 1909-1910, several years before the 
compulsory school law went into effect, we had enrolled in our 
schools 14,317 children, and an average daily attendance of 9,865, 
or 69 per cent of the total enrollment. During the year 1919-20, we 
had a total enrollment of 19,811 children with an average daily 
attendance of 13,453, or 68 per cent of the total enrollment. So, by 
the enforcement of the compulsory school law, our enrollment has 
only increased 3 per cent. During the past decade our average 
daily attendance has fallen off 1 per cent, and this is one of the 
principal purposes for which the act was enacted. The recent enact¬ 
ment of the law and the inexperience in its enforcement may be 
given as reasons for the poor showing it has made with regard to 
improved attendance and enrollment. 

The abolition of the position of truant officer cannot be invoked 
as an excuse for the deficient functioning of the compulsory school 
attendance law in Orangeburg County. Quite wisely this county is 
one of those in the State retaining the truant officers. There are 
two of these in Orangeburg County. However, it is felt that they 
are just beginning to realize their authority and the importance of 
the work they are doing for the future citizenship of the county 


Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 61 

and State. What is needed is an enlightened, active sentiment for 
compulsory education which will make each citizen of the county 
an invaluable aid to the truant officer in carrying out the duties of 
his office. 


Teachers 

The teachers of our schools are probably the worst neglected 
factor in our school system. Orangeburg County ranks 16th among 
the counties in the State in the value of school property. However, 
the fact that we have good buildings and grounds constitutes no 
reason for the statement that w e have the best schools. Even 
though our equipment were all that it might be, and it is not, we 
cannot have the best schools unless we have the best teachers in 
charge of the instruction in these schools. 

The average salary paid white men teachers in Orangeburg 
County in 1920 was $1,030. We ranked 27th in this respect. The 
average salary paid white women teachers for this same period was 
$510. We ranked 30th among the different counties in this regard. 
Our average annual salary paid white teachers in th e county in 
1920 was $770, a sum far too small if we compare it with the ser¬ 
vices rendered. The average salary paid white teachers in 1910 in 
Orangeburg County was $428, and we had only 142 such teachers. 
In 1920 we had 215 white teachers or an increase of 66 per cent, 
and for the past decade the salaries increased 55 per cent. This 
shows that we are beginning to realize the importance of paying 
our teachers in proportion to the great service rendered, but when 
we consider the increase in the cost of living, our teachers were no 
better provided for than they were in 1910. 

We had, in 1920, 24 white men teachers and 191 white women 
teachers, or eight times as many women as men, at just about one- 
half the salary of the men teachers. 

If the parents in Orangeburg County are not satisfied with the 
way their children are being taught, they have little ground to 
criticize others, but must take the blame themselves. 

A comparison of teachers’ salaries and that of other trades may 
be made from the 1919 report of the State Department of Agricul¬ 
ture, which will give a clear conception of the injustice being done 
the teachers: Bakers receive as annual wages, $878; confection¬ 
ers, $1,234; electricians, $2,105; machinists, $1,535; plumbers, 
$2,000; and day laborers, $720. 

It is necessary for our teachers to spend'a number of years and 
a large sum of money preparing themselves for their noble work, 


62 Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 


and then we expect them to work for far less than we give laborers. 
If we expect to have good teachers and to keep the few good ones 
we have now, we must be willing to pay the price. 

Negro Schools 

In Orangeburg County we have two separate and distinct sys¬ 
tems of schools; one for the whites and one for the negroes. Every 
one knows that the white schools are superior to the colored 
schools. So they are, and so they should be. The whites deserve 
better schools, but we should not overlook the negro, but, instead, 
should try to give him what he is due. 

In 1910 the value of all negro school property in Orangeburg 
County was $10,685, and in 1920 it had increased to $30,775, or had 
just about trebled in one decade. 

The annual salary of colored women teachers in 1910 was $73, 
while in 1920 it was $145, or had just about doubled in ten years. 
The number of teachers had increased only 24, which gives a total 
of 134 negro teachers in 1920. 

In 1920 Orangeburg County spent $23.56 per capita on her white 
children, and ranked 24th among the counties of the state. In the 
same period we spent $1.65 per capita on the negro children, with 
a rank in the state of 44th. Charleston County ranks first in both 
respects, spending $64.17 on her white children and $11.57 on her 
negro children. 

These figures go to show the progress being made in the negro 
schools, but there is room for a lot more work in this same direc¬ 
tion, which will prove a benefit to the white people as well as the 
negro. Negroes that spend only a short while in school tend to 
develop a very undesirable attitude that we do not care for, but a 
negro that has a fairly good practical education realizes his place 
among the people of the South. 


Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 63 


Ten-Year Gains in Our Schools. 



1910 

1920 

Per Ct. 
gain. 

Total revenues _ _ 

$76,342 

$196,783 

158 

Total value white school property_ 

99,727 

341,835 

242 

Total value negro school property 

10,685 

30,775 

190 

Spent for teachers and supervision_ 

63,374 

142,882 

125 

Spent for buildings and supplies __ 

14,676 

34,343 

134 

Total school population 

21,563 

28,825 

34 

Total school enrollment 

14,317 

19,811 

38 

Per cent of enrollment 

66 

69 

3 

Average daily attendance 

9,865 

13,453 

36 

Per cent average daily attendance_ 

69 

68 

*1 

Average annual salary (white men).. 

.531 

1,030 

94 

Average annual salary (white women) 

326 

510 

57 

Average annual salary (negro men).. 

143 

197.40 

38 

Average annual salary (negro women) 

73 

145 

99 

No. of white men teachers 

32 

24 

*25 

No. of white women teachers- _ 

110 

191 

74 

No. of colored teachers _ 

110 

134 

22 

No. of local tax districts _ 

73 

68 

*7 

No. with extra levy 

53 

59 

12 

No. of town schools- 

21 

29 

38 

No. of county schools- 

167 

149 

*11 

No. of white school houses 

88 

69 

*2Z 


♦Decrease. 


Rank of Orangeburg County in School Matters: 1920. 

Rank 

Hth—In percentage in regular attendance (white)- 

Georgetown heads with 80.89 per cent; Cherokee 
comes last with 60.30 per cent. 

41st—in percentage in regular attendance (colored)- 

Georgetown first with 87.24 per cent; Hampton 
last with 61.31 per cent. 

32nd—In percentage in regular attendance (both races) __ 
Georgetown leads with 84.89 per cent; Dillon last 
with 61.51 per cent. 

38th—In average length of session in white town schools 
in days _!---- 


72.60 


65.56 


67.91 


161 




















64 Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 


Calhoun, Georgetown, Lancaster and Richland tie 
for first place with 180 days; Horry last with 136 
days. 

28th—In average length of session in country schools 

(white) _ 123 

Charleston leads with 159 days; Cherokee last with 
90 days. 

24th—In per capita expenditure according to white en¬ 
rollment _ $23.56 

Darlington leads with $72.67; Abbeville last with 
$16.69. 

44th—In per capita expenditure according to colored en¬ 
rollment _ $1.65 

Charleston first with $11.57; Bamberg last with 
$1.45. 

39th—In per capita expenditure according to enrollment 

of both races _ $8.96 

Charleston first with $33.11; McCormick last with 
$7.23. 

27th—In average salary paid white men teachers_ $1,030.00 

Charleston first with $2,317.62; Lexington 46th with 
$537.60. 

30th—In average salary paid white women teachers_ $510.00 

Charleston first with $890.25; Lexington 46th with 
$385.38. 

37th—In per capital investment in school property_ $5.75 

Florence first with $29.07; Fairfield 46th with 
$2.77. 

16th—In total value of school property_ $363,610 

Greenville first with $2,568,374; Fairfield 46th with 
$75,331. 

7th—In number of local tax districts_ 68 

8 th—In number of local tax districts levying special tax 59 

8 th—In receipts from state appropriation (both races)__ $28,270.25 
Spartanburg first with $49,511.3S; Jasper 46th with 
$3,180. 

17th—In average number white pupils to schools ac¬ 
cording to enrollment__ 83 

Charleston first with 159; Berkeley 46th with 31. 












Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 65 

llth—In average number white pupils to school accord¬ 
ing to average attendance_ 55 

Charleston first with 114; Jasper 46th with 21. 

29th—In average number white pupils to teacher, ac¬ 
cording to enrollment_ 27 

Jasper, Beaufort and Berkeley tie for first with 
23; Greenville 46th with 53. 

28th—In average number white pupils to teacher accord¬ 
ing to average attendance_ 18 

Jasper and Williamsburg tie for first place with 
15; Greenville 46th, with 31. 

19th—In percentage of white schools that are one-teacher 

schools (1921) _ 34 

Dillon leads with 4 per cent; Georgetown is last 
with 76 per cent. 











VII. 

ORANGEBURG AGRICULTURE. 


William Fletcher Fairey, Jr. 

The total farm wealth of Orangeburg County in 1920 was esti¬ 
mated to be $25,680,124. There were only three other counties in 
the State that had a greater farm wealth. These were Anderson, 
Spartanburg, and Greenville. 

Orangeburg ranked 12th in 1920 in per capita country wealth 
with $793 per person. Marlboro County ranked first with $1130 
per capita. From 1910 to 1920 Orangeburg with 161 per cent in¬ 
crease ranked 12th in the increase of total farm wealth. George¬ 
town ranked first with an increase of 244.5 per cent. 

By food and feed crops we mean those crops which may be con¬ 
sumed by man and beast for the sustaining of life. In this respect 
we find Orangeburg County producing only $6,070,047, while we 
need $12,462,263.94. This makes a shortage of $6,392,216.94 in 1919. 

The percentage value that non-food crops were of the 
total crops in Orangeburg in 1919 was 79 per cent. She had the 
rank of 29th in this item, which means that 17 other counties 
raised a higher percentage of food and feed crops than did Orange¬ 
burg. 

One crop counties taken over a period of time are poor. The 
richest sections of the country are not those that depend on a 
single crop, such as cotton or wheat. Specialized crops, such as 
fruit, tobacco, or even potatoes, and the dairy and poultry indus¬ 
tries, figure very largely in the counties where agricultural wealth 
is highest. 

The statistics as given below from the Literary Digest of March 
25, 1922 present a rather strong argument for a diversified agricul¬ 
ture, with attention to dairying and to such specialized crops as 
the land and climate may permit. 

Of the leading ten richest counties, seven are in the Pacific 
States (California and Washington), one is in the Middle West and 
two are in the East. Los Angeles County, California, with a total 
of nearly $72,000,000, comes first and Fresno County, in the same 
state, is second. Fruit, of course, is largely responsible for the 
enormous agricultural values in these regions. 

Third on the list comes Arostook County, Maine. In value of 
crops alone this county ranks second in the United States, and by 




Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 67 


far the greatest part of the value represents potatoes. Lancaster 
County, Pennsylvania, the other Eastern county in the first ten, 
comes fifth; tobacco, in addition to hay and grain crops, is respon¬ 
sible for the high rank. Dane County, Wisconsin, is the highest 
Middle West county on the list, being tenth. Dairying is very 
important. In value of crops alone this county ranks not tenth, 
but twenty-fifth. 

The richest Illinois county is McLean, the eleventh. The richest 
one-crop county, and also the richest county in the cotton belt 
proper, is Bolivar, Mississippi, in the famous “delta” section. 

It is interesting to note that of the fifty leaders scarcely more 
than a dozen belong to the cotton belt. If crops alone were con¬ 
sidered, without livestock products, the result would probably be 
more favorable to the South. 

In a number of instances the dairy industry has raised individual 
counties to high standing in value of farm products. St. Lawrence 
County, New York, ranks 108th in value of crops alone, but in the 
crop and live-stock products list it stands fourteenth. The poultry 
and egg industry of Sonoma, California, near San Francisco, is the 
cause of that county’s rank of eighth in the final list; in value of 
crops alone it stands forty-second. 

Four of the fifty leading agricultural counties in the United States 
are in South Carolina, according to a census report just issued. 
The fifty counties listed by the government lead in the combined 
value of crops and livestock products. In this order the four 
South Carolina counties hold twenty-third, twenty-fourth, thirty- 
eighth and forty-seventh places. If the value of crops alone 
should, be considered these counties would take much higher 
ranks, as many of the counties listed around the top produce 
much more livestock products than the counties in this state. 

Only four Southern states have counties in the select fifty. 
South Carolina and Texas have four each, North Carolina three 
and Mississippi one. The four counties in South Carolina are 
Anderson, Orangeburg, Spartanburg and Marlboro in the order 
named, and the value of the crops and livestock products of each 
is a^ follows: Anderson $23,528,158; Orangeburg, $23,427,879; 
Spartanburg, $20,887,542; Marlboro, $19,419,921. 

Machinery on the Farm 

Orangeburg County ranks 7th in the State in the value of farm 
implements per acre in 1920. The amount was $9.79. Anderson 


68 Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 


leads the State with $11.69 worth per acre; the average for the 
entire State was $7.77. 

The primary purpose and usual effect of the use of any machine 
is the production of utilities at a less expenditure of time, energy, 
and money. When aided by machine power, a given expenditure 
of time, energy, and money will produce a greater quantity of 
utilities. Utilities are the means of satisfying wants, and the 
satisfaction of wants is essential to life and happiness. The use 
of machinery by supplying wants, does, therefore, one of two 
things; either it enables a large number of persons to get a living 
or it enables a given number to “get a better living.” It would 
be impossible for the labor force now in existence, unaided by 
machinery, to provide even the ordinary necessaries of life, as we 
now count necessaries. Not only in Orangeburg County have the 
people come to realize the value of improved machinery on the 
farm, but throughout the entire United States there has been a 
tremendous increase in the use of farm machinery during the 
last few decades. 

Farmers have, in recent years, realized that it is to their ad¬ 
vantage to employ the various kinds of farm machinery; however, 
it took them many years to break away from tradition and super¬ 
stitious ideas. Today the farmer who does not use a machine of 
some sort is indeed far behind the times. 

Negro Operated Farms 

Of the 8,558 farms in Orangeburg County in 1920, 5,644 or 65.9 
per cent were operated by tenants. Of these 5,644 farms, 4,628 
or 82 per cent were operated by negro tenants; 1,129 or 13 per 
cent of the total number of! farms were directly owned and 
operated by negroes. According to the 1910 Census there were 
then 900 farms owned by negroes and 249 or 27.8 per cent of 
these were mortgaged. As yet the figures in this regard for 
1920 are not available. There is food for real thought in the 
tendencies in the state along these lines. 

The percentage of negro tenancy as compared with the per¬ 
centage of negro population in Orangeburg County shows 54 per 
cent tenancy against 65.8 per cent population. However, the re¬ 
verse is true of white tenancy, the tenancy being 46 per cent 
against 34.2 per cent population. 

The Soil and its Care 

The soils of Orangeburg County are very durable, having once 
been put into good productive condition they are easily main- 


Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 69 


tained in that state. They hold improvement well and are easily 
improved. Some of the drawbacks to the present system of agri¬ 
culture in our county are the prevailing shallowness of plowing, 
failure to maintain the humus supply, and the growing of too few 
winter cover crops. 

According to W. H. Beal, of the United States Department of 
Agriculture, in Farmers’ Bulletin Number 192, barnyard manure 
is the most important manurial resource of the farm and should 
be carefully saved and used. It represents fertility which is 
drawn from the soil and must be returned to it if production is 
to be maintained. It not only enriches the soil with the nitrogen, 
phosphoric acid, and potash, but it also renders the stored up 
materials of the soil more available, improves the mechanical 
conditions of the soil, makes it warmer, and enables it to retain 
more moisture. On the basis of prices charged for commercial 
fertilizers it is estimated that the average value of manure an¬ 
nually produced by each horse or mule is $27, each head of 
cattle $19, by each hog $12, and by each sheep $2. Probably less 
than half these values are actually realized in practice. 

Organic matter should be maintained in soils to improve their 
physical condition. This may be accomplished by green manur¬ 
ing or the plowing under of green crops and by the plowing in of 
manure, straw, stalks, and other vegetable refuse. 

Leguminous crops, such as clover, alfalfa, and cowpeas used as 
green manure, not only increase the humus of soils but supply 
nitrogen from the air. This is the cheapest way of adding this 
important fertilizer ingredient. 

Commercial fertilizers are expensive. But with a good rota¬ 
tion, deep and thorough tillage, and the use of green manures, 
legumes, and winter cover crops, the quantity of commercial fer¬ 
tilizers required for a given crop yield can be considerably 
reduced. 

Wheat, rye, oats, corn, cotton, sorghum, sweet and Irish pota¬ 
toes—in fact, all non-leguminous plants take their nitrogen from 
the soil alone and are robber crops. Peas, beans, vetches, clovers, 
and all leguminous plants are soil building crops. 

The first step necessary in the “Soil Building System” is di¬ 
vided into five principles: (1) Deep fall plowing; (2) better ter¬ 
racing and drainage; (3) better seed bed; (4) better seed; and 
(5) more frequent shallow cultivation. 

The second step is as follows: in winter covei ciops of vetch, 
clover, and grain to be double disked and tinned just befoie 


70 Orangeburg County: Economic and Social. 


planting in the spring. This practice means more than all else 
to the farmer, since it furnishes a foundation for relatively all 
else, when vetch and clover are properly inoculated and supplied 
with a sufficiency of phosphorus and potassium. 

The third step is: diversification and rotation of crops with 
winter cover crops of vetch, clover, and grain on all open lands. 
The cover crop is the most important part of any rotation, pro¬ 
vided the legumes are properly inoculated and supplied with the 
necessary mineral fertilizers—phosphoric acid and potash. 

The fourth step is animal industry. The producing of hogs, 
sheep, cattle, and horses should be gradually increased as the 
practices above furnish sufficient cheap feeds on the resulting 
fertile soil. Enrich the soil to feed the animals, rather than feed 
animals to enrich the soil, should be our policy. 

Results that would be gotten from the above would be First: 
Economic Production with nature’s nitrogen from the air instead 
of expensive production as we now have it, with high-priced am- 
moniated fertilizers. Second: Agricultural Prosperity instead 
of soil robbery such as exists at present. Third: Mercantile and 
Commercial Prosperity instead of a scramble for the relatively 
small volume of business of today. Fourth: Civic Prosperity 
with something to tax, and a constituency who will demand 
taxation instead of fighting it as at present. Prosperity demands 
good things, in the country as well as elsewhere, and is usually 
willing to pay for them. 


Non-Food Crops 

The total value of non-food crops produced in 1919 amounted to 
$18,216,362 in Orangeburg County. In the value of non-food crops 
produced we rank first. Anderson County comes second with a 
production valued at $17,992,832. 

Cotton is the chief non-food crop produced in Orangeburg 
County; in fact we may say that it is the only non-food crop pro¬ 
duced for commerce. In 1920 Orangeburg ranked first in the 
production of cotton with 93,000 bales. The average for the state 
was 35,628 bales per county. It is easy to see from these figures 
where the main emphasis has been in the agriculture of Orange¬ 
burg County. The boll weevil has already changed the attitude 
of our people toward cotton as the exalted king of our farm crops. 

A danger, remote but yet a danger, to the population of this 
county is undernourishment. During the recent war we were 
taught to use substitutes, to try something “just as good’’ as the 
original article. The collapse of the German army was due in 


Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 71 


part to the loss of stamina through the use of substitutes in food 
and clothing. We are told that in some parts of Asia the people 
live in such poverty and squalor that they are unfit to be pro¬ 
genitors. 

Keep well. That is the main thing in the physical life. He who 
keeps well enjoys life. Our farmers who raise their own food 
on their own places are entitled to be the healthiest and the 
happiest people in the world. It is bad enough to see town peo¬ 
ple use “store bought things” but it is nothing less than a crime 
to see an Orangeburg County farmer buy butter and eggs and 
other such table necessities. 

Sweet Potatoes. 

In 1910 there were 2,105 acres planted in sweet potatoes with 
a yield of 195,822 bushels. According to the Bureau of Crop Esti¬ 
mates in 1920 there were 2,198 acres planted with a yield of 128,- 

663 bushels. 

What Orangeburg needs is a large number of individual and 
cooperative sweet potato storage houses in the county. If we 
would only begin on a small scale the advantages of cooperation 
could be realized. There are four main advantages of a coopera¬ 
tive sweet potato association: (1) It furnishes a more regular and 
ready market; (2) it supplies a market of wider range than that 
of the independent grower; (3) it enables packing and marketing 
of a more uniform product; and (4) it secures higher prices 
resulting from shipment in bulk. The movement is creating wide¬ 
spread interest throughout the county, and let us hope that this 
interest will take root. 


Corn 

Orangeburg with 31.2 per cent increase in corn production from 
1910 to 1920 ranks 21st among the counties of the State. In 1910, 
76,953 acres were planted with a yield of 1,112,863 bushels; in 
1920, 84,548 acres were planted with a yield of 1,460,318 bushels. 

This crop has made a gradual increase in the last decade but 
it is not yet nearly what it should be. With the increase of hog 
raising in Orangeburg County there should be a larger growing 
of corn. While we cannot hope to compete with the Middle West 
in corn-fed hogs, nevertheless, in order to prevent discrimination 
against “soft pork” we must at least “top off” the hogs raised on 
grazing crops by feeding them some corn and other substances 
hardening their flesh for market. 


72 Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 


In 1921, according to the United States Department of Agricul¬ 
ture, there were 97,000 acres of corn planted in Orangeburg 
County, with an average yield of 17 bushels per acre, and a total 
yield of 1,649,000 bushels valued at $1,210,260. 

Tobacco 

It has only been in the last year or two that Orangeburg County 
has planted any tobacco. In 1920 Orangeburg County planted 
389 acres of tobacco and raised 183,974 pounds. What does this 
show? In 1921 there were 500 acres planted with a yield of 540 
pounds to the acre and a total production of 270,000 pounds, at a 
value of $24,300. 

With the development of improved marketing facilities in the 
county there will be a decided increase in tobacco growing among 
Orangeburg farmers. Alignment with the Tri-State Tobacco 
Growers’ Cooperative Marketing Association will in a large 
measure solve all of the marketing difficulties of the tobacco 
grower, including grading and standardization of product. 

Farm Lands 

The approximate land area of Orangeburg County is 1,131 square 
miles or 723,840 acres. According to the 1920 census 158,079 acres, 
or 21.8 per cent of the area was in various forms of idle lands. 
The land occupied by towns and cities is also included in this, but 
this only takes up a small area. Orangeburg County ranks 5tli 
among the counties in the State in idle lands. Horry County ranks 
first with 284,738 acres and Allendale County last with 3,833 acres 
idle. With this 21.8 per cent of idle land, Orangeburg has not 
reached the limit of its ability to sustain population. There is 
plenty of room for new farm and town families. Reserving 50,000 
acres for wood-lot uses in the county and allowing 75 acres for the 
average family of five, there is room for 2,108 new farm families 
or 10,540 persons in Orangeburg County. 

Through the application of brain and capital these 158,079 un¬ 
used acres, in the county could be converted into farms of high 
productivity. It would be unwise and impracticable to turn all of 
the idle lands into improved farms immediately, yet it is clearly 
evident that in every section of the county there is a sufficient 
amount of land to insure a farm to each of the 1,016 white tenants 
in the county if they aspire to be farm owners. 

In 1920 Orangeburg ranked 14th in the per cent of improved land 
in farms with 228,227 acres or 58.1 per cent. Barnwell County led 
the State with 68.4 per cent of its farm lands improved, and George- 



Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 73 


town was last with 16.9 per cent. The average for the State was 49.8 
per cent. 

The average size of a farm in Orangeburg County is 57.9 acres 
with 33.7 of these classed as improved. Allendale leads with an 
average of 55.2 improved acres per farm. 

Farm Tenancy 

No community ever reaches its highest stage of agricultural de¬ 
velopment until the farms are operated mainly by owners. This 
problem should be of vital concern not only to every farmer but 
to every citizen of Orangeburg County. In 1910 there were 6,904 
farms and we find that approximately 40 per cent of these were 
operated by owners; and 60 per cent by tenants. The number of 
farms in 1920 was 8,538 with 33.5 per cent of these operated by 
owners, and 65.9 per cent operated by tenants. 

The State increased from 63 per cent of farm tenancy in 1910 to 
64.5 per cent in 1920. Tenancy increased in Orangeburg from 59.8 
per cent in 1910 to 65.9 per cent in 1920—a difference of 6.1 per 
cent. Tenancy is on an increase not only in South Carolina but 
in the United States as a whole, and especially in the Southern 
States. Tenancy exists to a greater degree in the lower section 
than in the upper section of South Carolina. 

The census of 1920 classifies as farm tenants in South Carolina 
“farmers who, as tenants, renters, or croppers, operate hired land 
only.” They are reported in 1920 in five classes: (1) Share ten¬ 
ants—those who pay a certain share of the products, as one-half 
one-third, or one-quarter, for the use of the farm, but furnish their 
own farm equipment and animals; (2) croppers shaie tenants who 
do not furnish their own work animals; (3) share-cash tenants 
those who pay a share of the products for pait of the land rented 
by them and cash for part; (4) cash tenants—those who pay a 
cash-rental, as $7 per acre of crop-land, or $500 for the use of the 
whole farm; (5) standing renters—those who pay a stated amount 
of farm products for the use of the farm, as 3 bales of cotton or 
500 bushels of corn. 

It would be a great step forward if the entire county would seek 
by every means to reduce tenancy to the lowest possible figure. 
Tenancy seems to be occasioned to a certain degree by social in¬ 
heritance. That is, there seems to be a greater tendency for the 
sons of tenants to follow in the footsteps of their fathers than 
there is for the sons of land owning fathers to become tenants. So 
it is clearly evident that as the farm owners increase, there will be 
an equal decrease in the tendency towards tenancy. 


74 Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 


The relation of tenancy to the character of the crop grown is 
close. Here as elsewhere the tenant grows mainly the money crops 
which can be planted and harvested within a single season. The 
most conspicuous of such crops in the State is cotton; 60 per cent 
of which is grown by tenants. The tenant grows much less than 
his proportionate share of corn and oats and about half his propor¬ 
tionate share of hay and other forage crops, and he owns less than 
half his proportion of the live stock. 

In buildings the tenant is still further short, having hardly more 
than one-fourth the value of such equipment as is found on the 
farms of owners. 

The greatest evils of tenancy center about the fact of frequent, 
almost constant, moving from farm to farm. About half the ten¬ 
ants move every year. The average period of occupancy by a ten¬ 
ant is therefore but a few years. Home and neighborhood ties, 
interest in schools, in organizations, or in any community affairs 
can hardly be expected of people who are almost destined to sever 
their connections with a given community and move to another 
within a year or two. 

An impoverished soil and an impoverished people will result 
from a continuation of the present unstable conditions in the mat¬ 
ter of tenancy. In the counties where the percentage of tenancy 
is highest, there is also found the highest percentage of illiteracy. 

In Orangeburg County, 82 per cent of the tenants are negroes, 
and 18 per cent are whites. There were in 1920, 1,016 white tenants 
in the county and 4,628 negro tenants. 

One Crop System and its Evils 

Tenancy is no doubt one of the greatest factors in strengthening 
the one-crop system. A tenant must raise a crop that will bring 
him ready cash and because of this fact he devotes his entire 
energies to cotton. The evil results of this are in the lowering of 
the fertility of the soil and also in causing the land to be idle for a 
considerable part of the year. 

The person who depends on one crop for his daily bread is in a 
sad plight when misfortune overtakes that crop, either in the form 
of an abnormally low price or decreased production. Another bad 
result of this one-crop system is that a man becomes absorbed in 
this crop so that he eventually comes to the point where he knows 
how to raise no other crop than that one. 

Seven of the fundamental evils of the one-crop system are: (1) 
It impoverishes the soil; (2) it increases the risk of the farming 
enterprise; (3) it makes the supply of money available at one 


Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 75 


time and develops the time credit system; (4) it makes the market¬ 
ing machinery difficult; (5) it makes for idleness of machinery and 
labor; (6) it lowers the general intelligence of farm labor; (7) it 
has a depressing effect on the social life of the community. 

As long as we “stick” to the one-crop system we need not ever 
expect to be a self-sufficing county. What we need to do is raise 
within our borders every pound of foodstuffs and feedstuffs that 
we need. The three great principles the farmer ought to follow 
are these: organization cooperation, and diversification. 

The successful farmer usually has from three to five important 
sources of income. There are some extraordinary circumstances 
under which a farmer may find it more profitable to raise only 
a single crop, and even to buy feed to supply his livestock, than 
to engage in diversified farming. Conditions like the above are 
exceptional and such a farm is always facing disaster through 
failure of that one crop, or through failure of market conditions. 
One year the farm may do good and then it may be a year or two 
before anything can be made. No single cropping system can 
guarantee continuous employment throughout the year, while with 
diversified farming the leaks caused by idle seasons can be largely 
overcome. 

Live-Stock 

The farms in Orangeburg County are too lightly stocked. We do 
not have enough animals and of those that we do have all are not 
of the very best stock and kind. Thanks though should be given 
to some of our wide awake farmers who are seeing the need of 
the better quality of livestock and are beginning to raise them; 
system being used in doing it. 

According to data figured on the basis of the 1920 Census there 
are 99,261 animal units needed in Orangeburg County, and yet there 
are only 41,355. Consequently, there is a shortage of 57,906 units. 
The same fact expressed in percentage is that our farms are stock¬ 
ed only 42 per cent on a lightly stocked basis. In other words, we 
are 58 per cent below the level. Our livestock ought to be nearly 
trebled in number to come up to requirements. 

It is a good thing to note that in the period of 1910-1920 we in¬ 
creased our cattle production 51 per cent and ranked 11th among 
the counties of the State in this regard. Dillon County came first 
with an increase of 109 per cent. Orangeburg ranked 29th, tying 
with Barnwell in livestock products per person, the value per per¬ 
son being $8.05. Edgefield County came first with a value per 
person of $22.06. 


76 Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 


One gratifying increase from 1910 to 1920 was that of hogs. We 
ranked 15th in this item with an increase of 94 per cent. Marlboro 
tied with us for this place. Anderson County showed the most 
progress with an increase of 276 per cent. Our production per 
capita is 118.1 pounds and gives us a rank of 6th in the State. 
Horry is first with a production of 183.3 pounds per capita. 

There are 158,079 acres or 21.8 per cent of Orangeburg County in 
idle lands. To bring this land into proper condition for cultivation 
would take years. Why not utilize this land for raising livestock? 
There is no reason why we should not and there is every reason 
why we should. We have a climate well suited to livestock and 
wonderful opportunities to develop livestock farming and indus¬ 
tries, creameries and the like. Again, our soils are well adapted to 
grains and grasses, the things essential for such industries. 

An interest should be created in livestock and in making im¬ 
proved animals the basis of farm prosperity. They will fertilize 
our soils and feed our families, leaving the money crops to furnish 
cash for our pocketbooks and bank accounts. 

According to the 1920 Census Orangeburg County’s beef cattle 
numbered 4,901 and were valued at $213,817, there being only seven 
other counties in the State outranking us in this regard. There 
were only three counties outranking Orangeburg in the total value 
of the beef cattle. In beef production in pounds per person Orange¬ 
burg ranks 13th with an average of 20.6 pounds per person. Beau¬ 
fort ranks first with an average of 129.8 pounds. We are only 2.8 
pounds above the State average which is 17.8 pounds. 

There are 624 sheep in the county valued at $3,755. From 1910 
to 1920 the county decreased 30 per cent in this item, but ranks 
11th in the State in the number of sheep per county. 

Orangeburg has shown an increase of 51.4 per cent in poultry of 
all kinds, and ranks 14th in the State in poultry increase. Even 
with this gain, we only produced 253,514 fowls and we needed 778,- 
884 on the basis of 12 fowls for each person, making a deficit of 
525,370 fowls. Chicken raising is one of the most profitable by¬ 
products of South Carolina farming today and we say by-products 
because with only a little attention a barnyard hen may produce 
approximately 200 eggs a year, which when sold will mean a neat 
little sum for the bother of keeping the fowls. Orangeburg County 
produces 9.9 pounds per person, each hen based on a 3y 2 pound 
basis; and ranks 19th among all the counties in this regard. 

We find that high per capita country wealth goes hand in hand 
with an abundance of domestic animals, and that low per capita 
wealth is always found where cattle and other farm animals are 
lacking. 


Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 77 

Facts and Figures About Farms and Crops in Orangeburg County 

The rank indicated at the left shows how Orangeburg County 
stands among the other counties of the State. Except where other¬ 
wise indicated, the figures are derived from the United States Cen¬ 
sus of 1920. 

2nd—In total number of farms_ 8,558 

In 1910 there were 6,904 farms, making 1,654 more 
in 1920 than in 1910, or an increase of 19 per cent. 

Increase for the State was 9.2 per cent. Anderson 
ranks first with 8,910 farms; Jasper County ranks 
last with 1,281 farms. 

4th—In value of all farm property_$45,680,128 

Anderson ranks first with $61,635,823; Jasper last 
with $4,255,029. 

12th —In farm wealth increase, 1910-1920 (per cent)- 160.6 

State showed a gain of 143 per cent. 

12th —In per capita country wealth_ $792.99 

Marlboro ranks first with $1,129.63 per capita; 

Charleston lowest with $289.57. 

7th—In per capita crop values- $187.66 

Calhoun first with $234.01; Charleston last with 
$25.37. 

16th—In value of crops per acre- $37 

Bamberg and Barnwell rank the same and have 
same value per acre as Orangeburg. 

1st—In value of non-food crops -$18,216,362 

Jasper is lowest with $471,371. 

29th —In percentage that non-food crops are of total 

crop values - 

Beaufort ranks first with 22 per cent; Marlboro 

last with 89 per cent. 

7th —In value of farm implements and machinery per 

acre of improved lands- 

Anderson is first with $11.69; Barnwell last with 

$3.84. 

29th—In value of live stock products per person- 

Barnwell and Orangeburg rank the same. Edgefield 
first with $22.06; Charleston last with only $1.71. 

14th —In percentage of farm land improved- 

Barnwell first with 68.4 per cent; Georgetown last 

with 16.9 per cent. 


79 

$9.79 

$8.05 

58.1 













78 Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 


15th—In percentage of average improved acreage per 

farm _ 33.7 

Allendale first with 55.2 per cent; Georgetown last 
with 21 per cent. 

25th—In percentage of total land area in woodland- 25.8 

Horry is highest, 43.1 per cent; Beaufort lowest, 

15.4 per cent. 

25th—In percentage of woodland in farms- 38 

Horry first with 72 per cent; Barnwell last, 25 per 
cent. 

28th—In percentage of farms operated by tenants- 65.9 

Marlboro first, 85.6 per cent; Beaufort last, 14.9 per 
cent. 

13th—In percentage of all farms that are mortgaged- 8.1 

Oconee first with 14.7 per cent; Marlboro last with 
2.6 per cent. 

11th—In percentage of white owned farms that were 

mortgaged (1910) -.*- 8.8 

Number of farms owned by whites is 6,004; num¬ 
ber mortgaged is 529. 

11th—In percentage of all farms owned by negroes- 13 

Barnwell and Orangeburg have same percentage 
and rank. Beaufort is first with 78 per cent; Dil¬ 
lon last with only 2 per cent. 

28th—In percentage of negro farms mortgaged (1910)— 27.8 

900 negroes own farms; 249 of these are mort¬ 
gaged. 

6th—In increased yield in bushels of corn in 1919 over 

1910 _ 347,455 

Anderson was first with 577,080 bushels; Hampton 
last with 334,845 bushels. 

21st—In percentage increase in corn production, 1910- ' 

1920 _ 31.2 

Charleston first, 108.2 per cent; Hampton last, 50.6 
per cent. 

14th—In yield of bushels of corn per acre_ 17.3 

Charleston first with 23.6 bushels per acre; Barn¬ 
well last, 9.5 bushels per acre. State average, 15 
bushels per acre. 

16th—In bushels of corn per person_ 20.9 

Calhoun first with 31.8; Charleston last with 4.2. 

State average, 16.3 bushels. 












Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 79 


20th—In bushels of wheat per person_ .3 

Lexington first with 1.9 bushels; Charleston last 
with .0002 bushels. 

12th—In yield in bushels of wheat per acre_ 9.2 

Dillon first with 13 bushels; Marlboro last with 
1.4 bushels. State average 7.4 bushels. 

11th—In percentage increase in number of cattle, 1910- 

1920 _ 51 

Dillon first with 109 per cent. 

13th—In beef production ,pounds per person_ 20.6 

Beaufort first with 129.8 pounds; Greenville last 
with 3.6 pounds. State average 17.8 pounds. 

19th)—In number of pounds of poultry per person_ 9.7 

Saluda first with 15.4 pounds; Charleston last with 
2.6 pounds. 

6th—In pork production, pounds per person_ 118.1 

Horry first with 183.3 pounds; York last with 22 
pounds. 

14th—In percentage increase of poultry, 1910-1920_ 51.4 

26th—In smallness of egg deficit, dozens per person_ 10.2 

Lexington first with 2.6 dozens; Charleston last 
with 16.2 dozens. 

32nd—In butter production, pounds per person_ 2.5 

Cherokee first with 23.6 pounds; Charleston last 
with 1 pound. State average 8.2 pounds. 

15th—In percentage increase in hogs, 1910-1920_ 94 

Marlboro and Orangeburg are tied in percentage 
increase; Anderson first with 276 per cent; Hamp¬ 
ton last with a decrease of 49 per cent. 

11th—In percentage decrease of sheep, 1910-1920- 30 

14th—In per acre production of tobacco, pounds- 600 

1st—In total production of cotton, bales- 93,000 

Anderson second with 81,000 bales; Beaufort last 
with 400 bales. 

5th—In number of acres of idle land- 158,079 

5th—In number of new rural settlers needed- 10,539 

10th—In cotton production per acre in 1920, pounds- 279 

Marlboro first with 336 pounds; Charleston and 
Beaufort last with 96 pounds. 

















VIII. 

BALANCE SHEET IN FOOD AND FEED 
PRODUCTION 


James M. Green, Jr. 

$6,392,217 Shortage in Home-raised Food and Feed. 

In 1920 the food and feed supplies consumed by the people and 
the animals in Orangeburg County amounted to' $12,462,263.94, and 
of this total, we produced just a little over one-half, or, in other 
words, only $6,070,047. That is to say, the farmers of the county 
failed to produce the food and feed needed by $6,392,216.94. This 
deficit includes only staple food and feed products, and not dainties 
and luxuries. 

During the same year the money crops, which are cotton and 
tobacco chiefly, sold for $18,216,362, in which respect Orangeburg 
County ranked first among the counties of the State. These figures 
are compiled from the Fourteenth Census of 1920, and the other 
data are based on annual consumption figures given out by the 
United States Department of Agriculture. 

Where the Shortage Lies 

By referring to the accompanying tables, it is noted that the 
shortage consists of 2,953,503 pounds of butter, 525,370 fowls, 635,- 
042 dozens of eggs, 551,799 bushels of corn, 244,919 bushels of 
wheat, 9,109 tons of hay and 3,451,957 pounds of meat. In the 
past decade Orangeburg County increased 94 per cent in the num¬ 
ber of hogs raised. This is encouraging, but we still have a short¬ 
age that is far too great. There is room in Orangeburg County for 
many more cattle and hogs. The per cent of animals on a lightly 
stocked farm basis is only 42 per cent of a possible 100 per cent. 
This gives a livestock shortage of 58 per cent below the level in 
Orangeburg County. It is apparent, then that we have room for 
twice the number of cattle and hogs we have at the present. 

There are 8,558 farmers in Orangeburg County, with approxi¬ 
mately 14,753 plows, and if each farm would add to its output 200 
pounds of pork, 200 pounds of beef, 4 fowls, 65 bushels of corn and 
iy 2 tons of hay, this would enable us to wipe out this deficit and at 
the same time put the farms on a more economical basis. This loss 
is occurring annually, and this shortage is a drawback to the pros- 



Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 81 


perity of the county, and a problem of vital importance; while if 
we could reverse this balance sheet we would have taken one of the 
first important steps towards prosperity. 


Some Reasons for Deficits 

The principal factors causing this $6,392,217 shortage in food 
and feed products are: (1) Undue amount of attention given to 
the production of cotton; (2) the lack of a proper local market 
system; (3) the system of land tenure. 

The reason why cotton growing is stuck to so persistently is on 
account of the ease of marketing. A farmer, like any other business 
man, needs a means of realizing ready cash, and, consequently, he 
plants cotton. A home market for this product has long been 
established, and in order to meet the demand, cotton is grown to 
such an extent in Orangeburg County that as a cotton growing 
county it ranks first among the counties of the State. No farmer 
is going to produce a crop for which he has no assurance of a 
ready market. To do so would make farming too much of a risk. 
There is a continuous demand for cotton, so the farmer plants cot¬ 
ton. 

If we could devise a method by which ready cash could be 
realized from food and feed crops, we would not have to continue 
with the one-crop system, but would be able to grow a large variety 
of crops and at the same time make a reasonable profit. 

There are five ways in which the farmer may market his prod¬ 
ucts, as follows: (1) By direct sale to the consumer, that is, by 
peddling from house to house. (2) By selling to local stores. (3) 
By shipping direct to dealers in large cities. (4) By selling to a 
local market. (5) By shipping through a cooperative association. 
These are the principal methods of. marketing which supply the 
farmers with a steady cash market. 

By shipping through a cooperative association is the most im¬ 
portant method of marketing farm crops. These associations are 
formed for various farm products all over the United States, and 
do not represent any hap-hazard money-making scheme, but are 
based on sound business principles to aid the farmer in getting a 
fair price for his products. 

In 1920 Orangeburg County ranked 28th with regard to the num¬ 
ber of farms operated by tenants. As long as such conditions exist 
in Orangeburg County we cannot hope to produce a surplus of food 
and feed products. There are 8,558 farms in Orangeburg County, 
and 4,628, or about one-half of the farms are operated by colored 


82 Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 


tenants. Now the tenants must produce a money crop, that is, one 
for which there is a market at all times. These tenants have not 
learned to live at home, a condition which is very noticeable at the 
present time; but, instead, they have to mortgage their cotton to 
enable them to get money to live on and to buy food supplies. 
These tenants, whose average stay in one place is two years, are 
after making a large crop with the least expenditure, and conse¬ 
quently they 1 are gradually draining the land of its fertility and 
never rebuilding it. * 


Shortage Increasing 

In Orangeburg County in 1910 we had a food and feed shortage 
of $3,132,166.36, while in the year 1920 we had a shortage of $6,392,- 
217. This is a very discouraging state of affairs to see this short¬ 
age on the increase. What will it be in 1930? This means that 
we are sending out of the county $6,392,217 which we could keep at 
home and thereby increase the wealth of the county. 

Our market facilities must be improved. At the present time a 
farmer can always find a market for his cotton or tobacco. He 
can even borrow money on the crop before it starts growing. When 
the crop is harvested, if the market price does not suit, he may 
store his cotton and borrow money, using the warehouse receipts as 
collateral. While with food, conditions are just the reverse. The 
farmer has a hard time selling them at a fair profit and often he 
will lose money on them. Thus we can readily see that one of the 
first essential steps in order to decrease our food and feed short¬ 
age is to establish local markets. As conditions are at the present, 
it is useless for the farmer to raise products for which he can find 
no market. 

t 

J 

Truck Farming 

Conditions in Orangeburg County are such that truck farming 
can be carried on very profitably if given the proper amount of 
attention. The climatic conditions are a close rival of those 
around Charleston, where truck farming is very profitable. The 
soil is such that a large variety of crops can be grown successfully. 
With two railroads, the shipping facilities are ample. Any venture 
along these lines would have to be started on a conservative basis 
and extended as experience and market warrant. 



Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 83 


The Boll Weevil Problem 

It has not been the purpose of this chapter to try and make the 
farmer decrease the cotton acreage, but instead to endeavor to prove 
to the people of the county that they should raise both food and non¬ 
food crops. 

The boll weevil has arrived, and there are very few sections of 
the county where the adjustment has yet taken place to the point 
that cotton can be raised profitably. So now is the accepted time 
for farmers to experiment and see what food crops they can raise 
and realize a just profit from. 

The farmer’s keynote at the present time should be, “Make the 
farm self-supporting.” If every farmer would endeavor to do this, 
farm life in Orangeburg County would take on new vigor and show 
signs of prosperity, instead of poverty. Some essentials for making 
the farm self-supporting are: Provide a good all-year garden; pro¬ 
vide and care for a good home orchard; produce staple food and 
feed crops for landlord, tenants, and livestock; provide enough 
cows to produce milk for all the families on the farm; and provide 
sufficient poultry for the entire farm. The meat bill is one of the 
largest items in the farmer’s grocery bill; so, a development of the 
hog industry is recommended. It takes four hogs averaging 150 
pounds each to supply pork for the average family of five. It 
takes approximately ten bushels of corn and sixty pounds of tank¬ 
age to produce a 150-pound pig. So it will take forty pounds of corn 
and 240 pounds of tankage to produce the pork required for the 
average farmer’s family. If butter milk, soy beans, rape or corn and 
velvet bean pastures are available, it will not be necessary to buy 
tankage. A splendid way to fatten hogs is to turn them on corn 
and velvet beans and let them do the harvesting. The develop¬ 
ment of the beef cattle industry is suggested where conditions are 
favorable. Since Orangeburg has a packing plant, we should have 
no trouble finding a market for all the beef cattle we can raise. 

The farmers should build up the soil systematically and practice 
crop rotation. It has been found, by experiment, that the fertility 
of the soil may be maintained more easily and more economically 
by a systematic crop rotation than can be done without crop rota¬ 
tion. 


84 Orangeburg County: Economic and Social. 


Orangeburg County Balance Sheet in Food and Feed Production 


1919. 


I. Food and Feed: 


Needed: 


64,907 people at_$161.28 $10,468,200.96 

15,909 work animals at 75.74 $1,204,947.66 

11,915 daily cattle at__ 35.67 424,958.05 

5,164 other cattle at__ 15.55 80,299.55 

624 sheep at_ 3.44 2,146.56 

21,906 swine at_ 12.86 281,711.16 $1,994,062.98 


Total food and feed needed_$12,462,263.94 

II. Food and Feed: 

Produced: 

Food and feed crops_$4,688,614 

Dairy products_ 96,657 

Poultry products___ 423,378 

Honey and wax_ 2,032 

Animals sold and slaughtered_ 859,366 


Total food and feed produced_$6,070,047 

Shortage in home-raised food and feed_$6,392,216.94 

Cotton and other non-food crops_18,216,362.00 

Distribution of Food and Feed Shortage: 

1. Meat needed for 64,907 people at 152 lbs_ 9,865,864 

Produced: 1,566 calves at 150 lbs_ 234.900 

3,335 cattle at 350 lbs_ 1,167,250 

180,159 poultry at 3 Mj lbs_ 630,557 

21,906 swine at 200 lbs. _ 4,381,200 


Meat produced, pounds_ 6,413,907 


Meat shortage, pounds_ 3,451,957 

2. Butter needed for 64,907 people at 48 pounds_3,115,536 

Produced- 162,033 


Deficit, pounds --- 2,953,503 

3. Fowls needed for 64,907 people at 12 fowls_ 778,884 

Produced - 253,514 


Deficit, fowls 


525,370 
































Orangeburg County: Economic and Social. 85 


4. Eggs needed for 64,907 people at 17y 2 dozen_ 1,105,873 

Produced - 470,831 


Deficit, dozens _ 635,042 

5. Corn needed for 64,907 people at 31 bushels_2,012,117 

Produced_.._ 1,460,318 


Deficit, bushels_ 551,799 

6. Wheat needed for 64,907 people at 4 bushels_ 267,628 

Produced_ 22,709 


Deficit, bushels_ 244,919 

7. Hay, tons needed for 15,909 work animals, at 10 lbs. 

per day, tons_ 28,9S4 

Produced_ 19,775 


Deficit, tons_ 9,109 

Facts About Food and Feed Production 

The Orangeburg County rank at the left margin shows how many 
counties do better. Except where otherwise indicated, the data are 
derived from the United States Census of 1920. 

1st—In total corn production, bushels- 1,460,318 

Georgetown County ranked last with 239,157 
bushels. The increase from 1910-1920 was 347,455 
bushels, or an increase of 31.2 per cent. The state 
increase was 31 per cent; 40 counties showed an 
increase in production; 3 showed a decrease. 

16th—In corn production per person, bushels- 20.9 

Deficit per person, 10.1 bushels. The per capita 
annual consumption figures in the United States, 
inclusive of livestock needs, is 31 bushels. State 
average production is 16.3 bushels per person. 

1st—In hay and forage production, tons- 19,775 

Hay needed, 28,984 tons; shortage was 9,109 tons. 

13th—In beef production per person, pounds- 20.6 

Beaufort first with 129.8 pounds; Greenville last 
with 3.6 pounds. State average, 17.8 pounds. 

19th—In poultry production per person, pounds- 9.7 

Saluda first with 15.4 pounds; Charleston 46tli, 
with 2.6 pounds. 























86 Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 


14th—In per cent increase of poultry in Orangeburg 


County, 1910-1920 _ 51.4 

Charleston first with 97.4 per cent; Berkeley last 
with 60.8 per cent. 

29th—In livestock products per person_ $8.05 

Edgefield first with $22.06; Charleston last with 
$1.71. 

6th—In pork production per capita, in pounds_ 118.1 

Horry first with 183.3 pounds; York 46th with 22 
pounds. State average, 67 pounds per person. 

13th—In beef production per person, pounds_ 20.6 


State average 17.8 pounds; needed, 152 pounds of 
meat production. Beaufort County led with 129.8 
pounds; Greenville last with 3.6 pounds. 

29th—In percentage that non-fcod crop values are of 
total crop values. Food crops are 21 per cent of 


total_ 79 

1st—In value of non-food crops, 1919_$18,216,362 

Jasper last with $471,371. 

32nd—In butter production, per person, pounds_ 2.5 


Cherokee ranks first with 23.6 pounds; state aver¬ 
age was 8.2 pounds. Charleston last with 0.1 
pounds. 

19th—In wheat production, per person, bushels_ .3 

Needed 4 bushels per person. Deficit per person, 

3.7 bushels. Lexington first with 1.9 bushels; 
Orangeburg produced 22,709 bushels. 

12th—In bushels of wheat per acre_ 9.2 

Deficit of 244,919 bushels of wheat. Dillon first 
with 13 bushels; Marlboro last with 1.4 bushels. 

State average 7.5 bushels per acre. 

13th—In oats production, bushels per acre_ 19.9 

Marlboro first with 28 bushels; Jasper last with 
8.1 bushels. State average IS.3 bushels. Total crop 
in county was 212,283. 

% 

Orangeburg County Livestock, 1920 Census. 


I. Animal units on hand: Animal units 

15,633 mature work animals_ 15,633 

94 spring colts (1/4) _ 24 

182 yearling colts (1/2)_ 91 

11,915 dairy cows _ 11,915 
















Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 87 

5,164 other cattle (1/2) _ 2,582 

33,879 mature hogs (1/5) _ 6,776 

24,496 spring pigs (1/10) _ 2,450 

526 mature sheep (1/7) _ 75 

98 lamhs (1/14) _ 7 

180,157 poultry (1/100) _ 1,802 


Total animal units_ 41,355 

II. Animal units needed: 

496,306 acres of land divided by 5_ 99,261 

Per cent of animals in a lightly stocked area_ 42 

Per cent below the level_ 58 

Note.—A lightly stocked farm area contains one animal unit 
for every 5 acres. A horse, a cow, 2 colts, 5 hogs 7 sheep or 100 
hens constitute a unit. 













IX. 

EVIDENCES OF PROGRESS. 


W. Fletcher Fairey, Jr. 

Wealth 

In 1910, our total farm wealth was over seventeen and a half mil¬ 
lion dollars and for 1920 our total farm wealth was valued over 
forty-five and a half millions. We ranked fourth among the coun¬ 
ties in the State in this particular. We showed an increase over 
1910 of 160.6 per cent, and we ranked twelfth in percentage increase. 
We beat the State average for this period by 17.6 per cent., the State 
average being 143 per cent. Our per capita wealth per country 
dweller in 1920 was $792.99, in which respect we ranked twelfth 
among the counties of the State. 

Out of 8,558 farms in the county, and we rank second among the 
counties, in this item, we ranked seventh in per capita crop values, 
with $187.66. This amount is based on the values of the eleven 
leading crops. For every acre of improved land $9.79 has been spent 
for implements and machinery. This is a good showing for us; 
it proves that the farmers are awake and aware of the needfulness 
of new machinery. Only six other counties come ahead of us in 
this regard. In the value of non-food crops (cotton and tobacco) 
we rank first with a total value of $18,216,362. In other words, 79 
per cent, of what we raised was cotton or tobacco. The above is 
true up until now, but luckily for us in one respect, and thanks 
to the boll weevil, we are beginning to raise truck which is as profit¬ 
able, if not more so, than cotton. 

For the 64,907 inhabitants of the county we have 23 banks, or 
one bank for every 2,822, in which respect we rank eleventh. We 
rank thirteenth in per capita bank resources, with $187; fourteenth 
in per capita bank loans and discounts, with $110, and sixth in per 
capita surplus, with $9; ninth in per capita bank capital, with $15. 
In the period of 1914 to 1919, we made an increase of 258 per cent 
in per capita total banking resources. 

In 1920 we had 4,071 automobiles in our county, or one to every 
15.9 persons. In 1921 there were only 3,214 automobiles registered, 
and we have now only one car for every 18.8 persons. 

In total amount of taxable property we have $35,045,900, and rank 
seventh among the counties. We come tenth in the counties of 
the State in increase in total taxable property 1910 to 1920, with 
75.26 per cent. According to these figures every person in the 
county is worth on the average $539. 



Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 89 


City Schools of Orangeburg. 

The first real public school building that was built in Orangeburg 
was in 1894, and was known as the Mellichamp building. This 
school is located on Sellers avenue, >in the southeast section of the 
city, and from 1894 to 1905 it was the only white school building in 
the city. It first housed the grammar school as well as the high 
school. In 1905 the Sheridan school was built in the opposite sec¬ 
tion of the city, and is located on Ellis avenue. It is sometimes 
spoken of as the Ellis Avenue School. This building has only the 
grammar grades, but did have the first year of high school up until 
several years ago. In 1916 the high school building was built. 

In 1897, the enrollment of the school was only 261 pupils. The 
enrollment today of the schools in the city are in excess of 1,400 
pupils, having over 400 of these in the high school department. 
This department last year graduated 102 boys and girls, this being 
the largest class that ever graduated from any public school in 
South Carolina at one time. 

The school, besides its regular work, offers work in regular classi¬ 
cal science courses, besides work in home economics and agricul¬ 
ture. In addition to the above courses offered, it has a splendid 
commercial department. Practically all of the stenographers in 
Orangeburg have obtained their training from the school. 

There is under construction at present a splendid school building 
containing twenty rooms for the negro children of the city. This 
building is being erected in a very desirable section of the city for 
the negroes to attend it, being in the near proximity 
of all the negro sections. The lot on which the school is to be 
erected is a large and well arranged one, and the building after 
completion will be one that the negroes can be proud of. 

The Board of Trustees for the Orangeburg City Schools consists 
of the following men: W. B. Thompson, Chairman; George V. 
Zeigler, Secretary; W. W. Wannamaker, L. C. Sheeut, and W. C. 
Wolfe. 

The High School is one of the best in the State, and has the rare 
and high distinction that only a few schools in this State can boast, 
that of being an active member of the Southern Commission of High 
Schools and Colleges. By being an active and recognized member 
of this Commission, its graduates can be admitted to any standard 
college in the country. Great credit is due the superintendent of 
these schools, of which the City of Orangeburg can so well and 
proudly boast. A. J. Thackston, who is the superintendent, has 
devoted his entire time and life to the building up of these schools, 
and his work can be seen by the strides forward that the school 
has made. 


90 Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 


Orangeburg County Schools. 

The condition of the schools in the county as compared with the 
schools of the other counties of the State is one that we are duly 
proud of. The county has awakened to the need of good schools, 
as is shown by comparing the schools today with those of a few 
years back. 

In the county there are ten high schools: viz., Orangeburg, Holly 
Hill, North, Springfield, Bowman, Elloree, Norway, Cordova, Branch- 
ville, and Neeses. There are also a total of 33 rural graded schools. 
Listed under “Other Schools” there are 17 schools, 15 being with 
one teacher and two with two teachers. The total enrollment, 
1921-1922 for white pupils was 6,770; average attendance, 5,368. 
The total negro enrollment for 1921-1922 was 8,222, and average at¬ 
tendance, 5,935. 

Two hundred and seventy-three thousand twenty-three dollars and 
fifty-eight cents is the total expenditure for white and colored schools 
in 1921-1922; $240,811.62 for white, and $32,211.96 for colored. 

The average expenditure per capita of whites, according to 
enrollment, was $36.10; while for the negro this was $2.56. 

The average length of school term for white in towns was 163 
days; in the country, 135 days; average for the county was 149 days. 
The average length of school term for negro schools in towns was 
85 days; in the country 68; average, 71. 

It is the plan of the County Superintendent of Education to estab¬ 
lish centralized high schools in 12 places over the county and bring 
in all the high school children from the rural schools. 

There are more agricultural teachers in the county than in any 
other county, there being seven white teachers and two negro 
teachers. 

In the county last year there were three brick school buildings 
built; one at Neeses, one at Springfield, and one at Cordova. 

The total value of all school property in the county is $363,310. 
In this respect we rank sixteenth. We also rank thirty-seventh in 
per capita investment in school property. As to per capita expendi¬ 
ture according to white enrollment, we rank thirteenth with $45.37. 

We rank eighth in average salaries paid to white women teachers, 
and twentieth in average salaries paid to white men teachers. 

In per cent, of white enrollment in regular attendance we rank 
seventh, with 77 per cent. For negro we rank seventeenth with 72 
per cent, of the total enrollment in regular attendance. 

The white country schools of the county, with an average ses¬ 
sion of 134 days, give us the rank of twenty-second in this respect. 
The average length of session for all white town schools in the 
county is 165 days. 


Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 91 


Agricultural Workers. 

Approximately eighty per cent, of the people of Orangeburg 
County are engaged in agricultural pursuits. This being the case, 
it can be readily seen that the prosperity and well being of the 
entire population of the county depends, to a very large extent, 
upon the prosperity and success of her farmers. 

It is indeed fortunate that Orangeburg County has an outstand¬ 
ing staff of agricultural experts to direct her activities along these 
lines. L. S. Wolfe is the County Agricultural Agent who works in 
co-operation with Clemson Agricultural College and the United 
States Department of Agriculture. Dr. M. G. Smith, the County 
Veterinarian, has had as much, if not more, experience in field 
work with hog diseases than any other man in the United States. 
Miss Cora Lee Coleman, the Home Demonstration Agent, works in 
co-operation with Winthrop College, the Extension Division of 
Clemson College, and the United S-tates Department of Agriculture. 

Orangeburg is the only county in South Carolina that has a 
County Veterinarian, and his work has meant the saving of thou¬ 
sands of dollars annually to the farmers, in the control of con¬ 
tagious and infectious diseases. He acts as a stabilizer to the live¬ 
stock industry, and it is hard to estimate the value of his efforts. 

The women of the county have a staunch friend and energetic 
worker in Miss Cora Lee Coleman, the Home Demonstration Agent. 
Her activities are all with the women and girls of the county and 
hundreds of them are enrolled in her many clubs. She has done 
especially good work with poultry clubs and has been the cause 
of thousands of containers of fruits and vegetables being canned 
and preserved on the farms of the county. 

Orangeburg County farmers seem appreciative of the work of the 
Extension Agent. The County Agent, with their co-operation, has 
been able to do some very constructive work. 

One of the outstanding agricultural developments that is directly 
traceable to the County Agent’s work is the development of the hog 
industry. 

Less than ten years ago, no hogs were being shipped out of the 
county. In fact, many farms were not raising enough hogs to 
supply their own needs. This year, approximately two hundred 
cars of hogs will be sold by the farmers of the county and about 
as many more will be home killed. The County Agent has been a 
very important factor in marketing these hogs, directing the co¬ 
operative shipment of a large per cent, of the hogs sold. 

There are more pure-bred hogs in Orangeburg County than in 
any other county in the State. Through the Orangeburg Pure-Bred 


92 Orangeburg County: Economic and Social. 


Hog Association, the breeders have been able, through cooperative 
effort to sell thousands of dollars worth of foundation stock to 
breeders in other sections of the South. 

It is thought that the first co-operative auction sale of pure-bred 
home raised hogs ever held in the State was under the auspices 
of the Orangeburg Pure-Bred Hog Association. 

Truck raising is another development of the County Agent’s activi¬ 
ties and of especial importance is the fall bean crop that is being 
grown annually in this country. In the spring, many truck crops 
are now being raised here and the County Agent has been of great 
value to many of the farmers by helping them witn problems in 
production and marketing. 

Several sections of the county have organized associations of 
truck growers; the largest of these being at Orangeburg, Eutawville, 
Elloree, Holly Hill, and Rowesville. 

Just at this time an effort is being made to popularize the poultry 
industry, and it is expected that this branch of work will materially 
increase the annual income of the county. 

Each year more than a thousand farmers make personal calls at 
the office of the extension workers for agricultural information and 
the letters written in reply to inquiries will run into the thousands. 
All this is indicative of the use the farmers are making of the ser¬ 
vice of the extension workers and shows a most hearty co-operative 
spirit. 

Many general activities are launched by the agricultural staff 
that are too numerous to mention, and the farmers of Orangeburg 
county are working together with other interests to stabilize the 
great industry under the new conditions. 


Young Men’s Business League. 

The Young Men’s Business League was founded in May, 1922, 
primarily for the purpose of affording a medium through which 
the younger business men of the city could get together and become 
better acquainted with each other, in both a social and business 
way; also, to assist its members in their business in any way possi¬ 
ble, and to send their suggestions through to the older organization, 
the Chamber of Commerce, with sufficient backing to secure their 
passage and adoption. Since the Chamber of Commerce is not very 
active at present, a number of its activities are devolved upon 
the League, and while authority is not assumed to act in the capacity 
of the Chamber of Commerce, such of its duties that can be per¬ 
formed are gladly taken over by this organization. 

There .is no paid secretary, this work being divided among the 


Orangeburg County: Economic and Social. 93 


officers and directors and the members through special committees. 
The League is glad at any time to furnish any information in 
regard to the city, or to assist in any way they can those needing 
the assistance of a Chamber of Commerce. 

At present the League is composed of about seventy-five members 
and is considering limiting the membership to this number. The 
officers and directors are as follows: 

President, J. West Summers. 

Vice President, H. C. Wannamaker, Jr. 

Secretary and Treasurer, L. E. Salley. 

Directors—Russell S. Wolfe, Eben L. Parker, Wm. C.. Wanna¬ 
maker, Oscar C. Lowman, H. E. Moore, Edward Victor Mirmow, 
Robert H. Jennings, Jr., George I. Whetsell, and Lewis J. Cauthen. 

Meetings are held regularly on the second Monday night in each 
month and comprise both a business and a social session. 

The League is at present engaged in a campaign to advertise 
Orangeburg, and is offering prizes to secure a good, workable slogan 
to be used in this connection. They have also under way several 
movements for the betterment of business conditions in the city, 
more especially as affecting the younger business men, and are 
working also on one or two propositions which would properly 
come in the sphere of action of a Chamber of Commerce. 

The League expects to do what it can for civic improvements 
and worked in co-operation with the Rotary and Lions’ Clubs in 
pushing the construction of the high school athletic field, their 
duties being principally to solicit the public subscription funds. 

Chamber of Commerce. 

While the Orangeburg Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture is 
not now engaged in promoting commercial activities as it has been 
in the past, this organization is doing a most wonderful work. All 
of the efforts of the Chamber of Commerce are now being directed 
towards the promotion of the business of farming. 

In fact, the Orangeburg Chamber of Commerce has the unique 
distinction of being the only body of its kind in the world that is 
absolutely controlled in policy and practice by one man. The 
County Agricultural Agent, with the County Veterinarian and the 
Home Demonstration Agent, maintains this organization personally 
and is using it to promote agricultural work. The well equipped 
suite of offices with a stenographer, typewriter, mimeograph, and 
other fixtures necessary make their work very effective in the 
county. 


94 Orangeburg County: Economic and Social. 


Besides his many agricultural duties, the County Agent is doing 
much to keep Orangeburg County and City before the people of the 
nation. 

The Young Men’s Business League is largely supplanting the 
work of the Chamber of Commerce in the commercial field and the 
two organizations are working together co-operatively for the inter¬ 
est of Orangeburg. 


Orangeburg County Fair. 

The Orangeburg County Fair Association was organized in July, 
1911, with a capital stock of twenty thousand dollars. The Asso¬ 
ciation purchased thirty-three acres of land within the city limits 
on Railroad Avenue, and erected thereon suitable and necessary 
buildings, with a half mile race track and an athletic field. 

The Association has held its annual fair each year through good 
and hard times. The Association has been successful financially, 
and now owns a plant valued at forty or fifty thousand dollars. 

The fair was organized by the Chamber of Commerce and Farm¬ 
ers’ Union. A director was elected from each township in the 
county. The officers of the Fair Association are: 

President, J. H. C'laffy. 

First Vice President, J. W. Smoak. 

Second Vice President, J. E. Gramling. 

Secretary and Treasurer, J. M. Hughes. 

AIL of these officers have served from the beginning with the 
exception of Mr. Gramling. The directors are: J. H. Claffy, J. W. 
Smoak, W. F. Fairey, W. L. Moseley, W. H. Dukes, L. A. Carson, 
E. E. Ritter, E. L. Culler, B. D. Funchess, M. K. Antley, D. B. 
Berry, F. M. Livingston, J. E. Gramling, J. F. Felder, N. N. Hayden, 
Jr., A. C. iBozard, T. L. Connor, Sr., D. D. Davis, J. W. Hart, G. W. 
Dukes, E. J. Boland, and W. B. Fogle. 

The Fair has ten departments: viz., Field Crop, Household, Fancy 
Work, Floral, Fine Art, Poultry, Swine, Cattle, Horse, and Mule. 

There has been marked improvement in the class of exhibits 
since the first fair, and this Association has been of much assistance 
in encouraging the growing of better field crops and the raising of 
better livestock. 


Wesley Community House. 

The Wesley Community House is owned by the St. Paul Methodist 
Church and is operated for the purpose of ministering to the peo¬ 
ple of the cotton mill community. It is fitted up as a home for 
the Deaconesses appointed by the Woman’s Department of the Board 
of Missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and has 


Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 95 


rooms for classes. There is also a well equipped playground in 
connection with the same, which is thoroughly enjoyed and aids con¬ 
siderably in the physical development of the children and young 
people. 

One of the very essential features of this work is that done through 
the church in one of the mill villages, where there is held Sunday 
School and church services each Sunday. While, of course, 
the principles of Christianity are taught through all the work, 
here is where the young and old alike come together to have the 
real gospel expounded to them. 

This work has been established for about fifteen years and dur¬ 
ing this time much has been done towards the physical, moral, and 
spiritual uplift of the community. 

Dixie Library. 

The Dixie Library is owned and managed by the Dixie Club, 
a woman’s organization of the city. The Library has been in exist¬ 
ence for a period extending over eighteen years. It is practically 
self-supporting and the only aid received is through donations from 
the public. In the time that the Library has been running, it has 
bought and paid for its two-story structure on Russell street. Miss 
May Riggs is the present librarian and credit is due her for a great 
amount of the success the Library has made, because of her consist¬ 
ent and efficient work. 

The library contains 3,000 volumes at present. A small fee is 
charged to anyone desiring books, except to members of the club. 
This is done to help defray expenses of the Library. A fine is 
charged also for anyone keeping a book out after a certain length 
of time. People living in the country are permitted a longer time 
in which to keep books. 


Rotary Club. 

The Rotary Club of the City of Orangeburg was organized in May, 
1921. Its membership is limited to one man from each profession, 
but in some instances a second active member is received from 
the same firm or business. The Rotary Club does not undertake 
many public movements as a club. It tries to help all organiza¬ 
tions that aim to build up the best interests of the community. 
Every Tuesday a luncheon is held to bring the members in per¬ 
sonal contact with each other and keep alive the spirit of service. 

“He profits most who serves best,*’’ is the slogan of Rotary. In 
1921 the club was organized with the following officials: W. E. 
Atkinson, President; Wallace Bethea, Vice President; Henry R. 


96 Orangeburg County: Economic and Social. 


Sims, Secretary and Treasurer. The present officers are: Wallace 
Bethea, President; Vernon J. Hill, Vice President; Atticus H. Mar- 
chant, Secretary and Treasurer. Directors, W. E. Atkinson, Dr. 
W. R. Lowman, W. A. Livingston, and John T. Wise. The club at 
an expenditure of approximately $5,000 constructed an athletic field 
for the high school. Through the good work of this fine organiza¬ 
tion the high school has an athletic field of which she is justly 
proud. 

The first Rotary Club was organized in Chicago, February 23, 
1906. There are 1,325 Rotary Clubs with a membership of approxi¬ 
mately 90,000 in twenty-seven countries. The clubs are organized 
for the purpose of practicing and spreading the principles of ser¬ 
vice through the adoption of codes of ethical practices in all lines 
of business and professions, through work among boys to prepare 
them for citizenship, and through utilizing the service idea in aid¬ 
ing and abetting all worthy causes for the general good of the com¬ 
munities in which the clubs are established. 


Lions Club. 

The Lions Club of Orangeburg was chartered in June, 1922, and 
has the distinction of being the second club chartered in the State. 
The club has thirty active and energetic members. Being a young 
club, as yet, it has not undertaken any outstanding performances, 
but it has assisted with all civic undertakings that have been put 
forward by the community. 

Lionism is growing and will very soon be a vital factor in the 
nation. There are now six hundred clubs with a membership of 
30,000. 

The present officers of the Orangeburg Lions Club are: John S. 
Bowman, President; B. H. Moss, First Vice President; Rev. G. E. 
Edwards, Second Vice President; Dr. G. M. Truluck, Third Vice 
President; O. S. Burns, Secretary and Treasurer; Pelham L. Felder, 
Jr., Lion Tamer; Peter C. Brunson, Tail Twister; Dr. V. W. Brab¬ 
ham, Director; Dr. J. G. Wannamaker, Director; J. R. Salley, 
Director. 

The Committee Chairmen consist of the following men: Publicity 
A. T. Wannamaker. Civic, Dr. G. H. Walter. Grievance, G. T. 
Felder. Entertainment, Pelham L. Felder, Jr. By-Laws, A. J. 
Hydrick. Attendance, Peter C. Brunson. Finance, O. S. Burns. 
Membership, Dr. V. W. (Brabham. Ways and Means, Otto W. Spahr. 
Education, Rev. J. E. Ford. 


A View up South Broughton Street, Orangeburg, 





























































































































Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 97 


The Agricultural Situation. 

The Orangeburg Sun for March 28, 1923, edited by Mr. Hugo 
Sims, gives some very interesting facts and figures about the 
Orangeburg County farmers. The figures reveal that Orangeburg 
was the banner agricultural county of the State for 1922, although 
the boll weevil placed her in fifth place in total value of crops. 
Omitting cotton, Orangeburg’s crops are worth millions of dollars 
more than any county which beat her in cotton and then, too, for 
1922 our cotton crop was only one-eighth of what it was In 1920. 

According to statistics prepared by Mr. B. B. Hare, of Saluda, the 
Agricultural Statistician for the United States Department of Agri¬ 
culture for the State of South Carolina, cotton in 1922 continued 
to be the leading money crop of the farmers of the State, being 
worth slightly more than $61,000,000. Corn was the second crop 
bringing more than $26,000,00. Tobacco has third place, the crop 
in 1922 being worth more than $13,000,00. These values are based 
on the prices of December 1, 1922. 

When the acreage given to the various crops is considered it is 
discovered that the biggest yield per acre, in dollars, based on prices 
of December 1, 1922, was returned by tobacco. Second place for the 
greatest value of crops per acre is taken by Irish potatoes, third 
place goes to sugar cane, and fourth place to sweet potatoes. 


Value of Livestock. 


The value of the livestock on January 1 totaled $52,591,132. More 
than 2,000,000 mules and almost 1,000,000 hogs are in this State with 
values exceeding $25,000,000 and $10,000,000, respectively. In the 
table below will be found the number and value of the livestock in 


the State: 

Mules . 

Horses. 

Hogs . 

Milch Cows ... 
Other cattle ... 
Sheep . 

Total value 


Number. 

Value. 

. 209,200 

$25,940,800 

70,200 

6,458,400 

. 948,000 

10,428,000 

. 228,100 

7,983,500 

. 189,300 

2,366,250 

23,425 

98,385 


$52,591,132 


Orangeburg Takes High Rank. 

Orangeburg County led the State in the total value of the follow¬ 
ing crops: Corn, oats, cow peas for grain, hay, and sugar cane. It 
was second in rye and sweet potatoes. In other crops it ranked as 










98 Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 


follows: Cotton, 12th; wheat, 20th; rice, 7th; Irish potatoes, 7th; 
peanuts, 6th; sorghum, 26th. No figures are given for tobacco. 

The cotton crop in Orangeburg County was 15,000 bales with a 
valuation of $1,725,000. The value of the corn crop was $1,364,160. 
These were the only crops whose value exceeded $1,000,000. Below 
will be found the value of each of the 13 leading crops in this 
county with the production of each. Cotton is stated in bales, hay 
in tons, peanuts in pounds, sugar cane and sorghum in gallons, and 
the others in bushels. 


Thirteen Leading Crops of Orangeburg. 



Production. 

Value. 

Cotton (bales) . 

. 15,000 

$1,725,000 

Corn (bushels) . 

. 1,568,000 

1,364,160 

Wheat (bushels) . 

. 28,000 

43,960 

Oats (bushels) . 

. 638,000 

484,880 

Rye (bushels) . 

. 3,300 

5,940 

Rice (bushels) . 

. 11,250 

12,937 

Irish Potatoes (bushels) . 

. 63,000 

81,900 

Sweet Potatoes (bushels) . 

. 550,000 

390,500 

Cow Peas (bushels) . 

. 126,000 

182,700 

Hay (tons) . 

. 23,000 

402,500 

Peanuts (pounds) . 

. 4,000,000 

60,000 

Sugar Cane (gallons) . 

. 187,500 

103,112 

Sorghum (gallons) . 

. 20,000 

11,000 

Total values. 


$4,868,589 


Cotton Puts Counties Ahead. 

When we analyze the position of this county in the agricultural 
survey of the State, we find that the failure of its cotton crops has 
relegated it to fifth place among the counties of the State. Spar¬ 
tanburg County leads the State with crops to the value of $8,488,010. 
The leading counties of the State as based upon the value of the 
crops produced below follows: 

Spartanburg .$8,488,010 

Anderson . 6,852,955 

Greenville . 5,592,813 

Marlboro . 5,356,653 

Orangeburg . 4,868,589 

Darlington . 4,626,313 

York. 4,233,035 

Williamsburg . 4,007,935 

























Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 99 


Orangeburg Weevil Loss Enormous. 

In looking over the above figures, it may be interesting to observe 
that the value of the cotton crop of Spartanburg county was more 
than $6,500,000, that of Anderson more than $4,500,000, Greenville 
more than $4,000,000, Marlboro almost $4,000,000, and of Orangeburg 
not quite $1,750,000. The production of these counties in cotton in 
1922 was 56,580 bales for Spartanburg, 40,000 bales for Anderson, 
35,000 bales for Greenville, and 33,000 bales for Marlboro. As 
Orangeburg county in any normal year, prior to the boll weevil, 
led the State of South Carolina in the production of cotton, it will 
be seen that our position is extremely favorable considering that our 
crop in 1922 was only one-eighth of the crop of 1920. The value of 
a normal cotton crop to this county in 1922 would have been more 
than $12,000,000. 

When we look into the figures further, we discover that Orange¬ 
burg county is not given credit for any tobacco, but for that matter, 
neither is Marlboro, nor Anderson, nor Greenville, nor Spartanburg. 
As an example of the value of tobacco, to the counties growing it, 
note that in this county cotton and corn were the only crops whose 
value exceeded $1,000,000. In Williamsburg county the tobacco crop 
was valued at $2,373,600, and almost as much in Florence and Horry. 
In Darlington it was worth almost as much as our cotton crop. 

Orangeburg Far Ahead in Livestock. 

The total value of the livestock in this State is $52,591,132. The 
value of the livestock in Orangeburg county is $2,617,040. This is 
almost $500,000 ahead of any other county in the State. Second 
place is held by Anderson county with livestock to the total value 
of $2,152,870. Spartanburg is in third place with livestock to the 
value of $2,026,058. No other county has livestock to the value of 
$2,000,000, Greenville and York being fourth and fifth, respectively, 
with values slightly in excess of $1,600,000. 

The position of Orangeburg county is just as favorable when we 
consider the number and value of the livestock and compare this 
county with others in the State. We find that Orangeburg county 
leads the State in the number of horses and hogs, is third in the 
number of mules and milk cows, sixth in the number of sheep, and 
seventh in the number of other cattle. 

Heads State Omitting Cotton and Tobacco. 

The value of the crops other than cotton and tobacco in Orange¬ 
burg county exceeded $3,000,000. In Spartanburg it was slightly 
less than $1,700,000, in Anderson slightly more than $1,900,000, in 


100 Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 


Greenville, slightly more than $1,500,000 and in Marlboro slightly 
less than $1,500,000. The counties above named have no figures 
given for tobacco. 

In Florence, one of the leading tobacco counties, the value of the 
crops other than cotton and tobacco was about equal to the figures 
concerning Greenville. Williamsburg, the leading tobacco county, 
shows crops other than cotton and tobacco to the value of $1,300,000. 
Horry, another leading tobacco county, shows its other crops as 
worth slightly more than $1,750,000. From these figures it will be 
seen that the valuation of the crops in Orangeburg county, exclud¬ 
ing cotton and tobacco were far ahead of any county in the State. 

Some Statistical Evidences of Progress. 


1st—In hay and forage produced, tons. 19,775 

Jasper last, with 1,835 tons. 

1st—In corn production in bushels. 1,460,318 

Jasper last, with 154,526 bushels. 

1st—In value of all crops by counties (1920).$22,904,976 

Jasper last, with $1,032,072. 

1st)—In value of food crops.$18,216,362 

Jasper last, with $471,371. 

1st—In production of cotton in bales (1920). 93,000 

2nd—In total number of farms per county. 8,558 

Anderson first with 8,910. 

3rd—In area of counties in square miles. 1,131 

3rd—In savings deposits with .$1,878,665 

Charleston first, with $12,467,969. Chesterfield last, 
with less than $4,000. 

4tb—In total farm wealth.$45,680,128 


Anderson first, with $61,635,823. Jasper last, with 
$4,255,029. 

4th—In per cent, that church members are of total popula¬ 


tion—ten year old and over. 93 

Barnwell first, with 114 per cent.; Colleton last, with 
54 per cent. Average for State, 73 per cent. 

6th—In number of autos and trucks registered for 1920.. 4,071 

Greenville first, with 6,726. Jasper last, with 228. 

6th—In number of autos (1921) . 3,214 

6th—In annual pork production, pounds. 118.1 

Horry first, with 183.3 pounds. York last, with 22 
pounds. 



< ' ? 














Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 101 


6th—In ranking population. 64,907 

Charleston first, with 108,450. Jasper last, with 9,868. 

State is with 1,683,724. 

6th—In surplus funds. $559,526 

Charleston first, with $2,267,275. Berkeley and Jas¬ 
per last, $5,000 each. 

6th—In surplus per capita . $9.00 

Charleston first with $21.00. Berkeley last with 
$0.25. 

6th—In total resources, .$12,161,106 

Charleston first with $48,792,245. Berkeley last 
with $151,628. 

6th—In number of bushels increase in corn, bushels.... 347,455 

Anderson first, with 577,080 bushels. Hampton last, 
with 334,845 bushels. 

6th—In total wealth (Tax Commission, 1920).$35,045,900 

Charleston first, with $89,464,800. Allendale last, 
with $7,802,500. 

6th—In capital stock in banks . $974,625 

Charleston first, with $2,500,000. Berkeley and Jas¬ 
per last, $15,000 each. 

6th—In loans and discounts, total amounts.$ 7,151,874 

Charleston first, with $24,766,630. Jasper last, 
with $94,555. 

7th—In per cent, stocked with livestock on the lightly 

stocked basis (1919) . 37 

Beaufort first, with 54 per cent. Georgetown last, 
with 18 per cent. 

7th—In per capita value (based on eleven leading crops) $187.66 


Calhoun first, with $234.01. Charleston last, with 
$25.37. 

7th—In amount spent in dollars for implements and 

machinery on improved lands per acre. $9.79 

7th>—In average attendance of school for whites. 4,956 

And per cent, in regular attendance (1921). 76.82 

Georgetown first, with 1,773 and 82.7 per cent. 

Horry last, with 4,630 and 62.45 per cent. State 
158,723 and 70.11 per cent. 

7th—In number of school tax districts by counties. 68 

Greenville and Spartanburg first, with 97; Beaufort 
last, with 9. 














102 Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 


8th—In per cent, increase in per capita banking resources 

(1914-1919) . 258 

Saluda first, with 469 per cent. Berkeley last, with 
75 per cent. 

9th—In savings per capita. $29.00 

Charleston first, with $115. Oconee, Dillon and 
Chesterfield tie for last with less than $0.25. 

10th—In cotton production in pounds per acre (1920) 

pounds . 279 

Marlboro first, with 336 pounds. Beaufort last 
with 96 pounds. 

10th—In per cent, increase of taxable property (1910- 

1920) . 75.26 

Florence first, with 123.72 per cent. Barnwell last, 
with 27.7 per cent. State as a whole, 60.22 per cent. 

12th—In percentage increase in farm wealth. 160.6 

Georgetown first, with 244.5 per cent. Barnwell last, 
with 24.7 per cent. Increase for State, 143 per cent. 







X. 

ORANGEBURG COUNTY PROBLEMS. 


James M. Green, Jr. 

W. Fletcher Fairey, Jr. 

Illiteracy. 

Every State in the Union, with the exception of Louisiana, can 
boast of a fewer number of illiterates, persons who cannot write 
their own names in any language, than -can South Carolina. The 
United State Census figures for 1910 show that 25.7 per cent, of the 
people in South Carolina were illiterates, while, from the same 
authority for 1920, we find that South Carolina has 18.1 per cent, 
of her population illiterate. This situation becomes considerably 
modified when we consider that the number of illiterates in South 
Carolina has been decreased 7.6 per cent, in the past decade. South 
Carolina should proudly boast of this fact, because she leads the 
States of the Union in reducing her percentage of illiteracy. It is 
very evident from these facts that South Carolina is beginning to 
awaken to her crying need for more and better educational advant¬ 
ages. 

The same conditions exist in Orangeburg County where we find 
18 per cent, of the population are illiterates—that is, we are just 
0.1 per cent, less illiterate than the State average. We have a total 
number of 8,248 illiterates in Orangeburg County, while of this num¬ 
ber only 590 are whites. The percentage of native white illiteracy 
in Orangeburg County is 3.7, which is 2.8 per cent, less than the 
State average (6.5 per cent). This fact shows that in white liter¬ 
acy Orangeburg County ranks well in the State. 

There is a large group of illiterates in Orangeburg County who 
are too old to go to school. Nevertheless, it is our duty to do all 
that we can so that the people may see the need of an education 
for two reasons: 

(1) That their remaining years may be of greater usefulness to 
themselves and the community in which they live; 

(2) That by realizing the value of an education they will appre¬ 
ciate the importance of their children attending school regularly. 

The remedy for illiteracy is education. This means adequate 
schools, enforcement of the compulsory school attendance law, and 
properly equipped teachers who have some consciousness of the 
great task which they have before them to perform. The majority 
of our illiterates are not too old to attend school. The efficiency 



104 Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 


of a school is in direct proportion to the attendance; and, while 
we cannot expect the illiterate parents to compel their children to 
go to school, no child will voluntarily attend school. He must be 
made to attend regularly. 

Schools. 

The four greatest problems that confront the schools of Orange¬ 
burg county are finances, attendance, teachers, and consolidation. 
If we are able to improve each one of these conditions, step by step, 
we will be sure to have a very efficient system of schools in the 
county. 

We certainly have the wealth in our county necessary to improve 
our school system. The value of all school property in the county 
in 1920 was $372,610, or about one-twelfth the value of the automo¬ 
biles. The expenditure for schools in Orangeburg county in 1920 
was $177,596.64. That is to say, we spent about thirteen times as 
much on automobiles as we did on schools. These figures show that 
we are well able to spend more on our schools and thereby place 
our money in a more permanent investment which will yield an 
ever increasing dividend and one that we will always be proud of. 

The compulsory school law, if enforced, would no doubt improve 
the attendance, but this law only requires an attendance of four 
months of the year. Our greatest hope is that the parents will 
realize the importance of their children attending school regularly 
without the necessary stimulus of the compulsory attendance law. 
Law enforcement is only effective when backed up by the enlightened 
sentiment of the people of a county and State. We cannot expect 
children to realize the vast importance of attending school, and 
consequently, the child must be compelled by some one to attend 
school regularly. 

Our actions often belie our words. We say that we believe in 
the all importance of religion and education. A world civilization 
founded on any other cannot endure—that much is sure. But when 
we compare our expenditures on moving picture shows and churches, 
and automobiles and schools, we are forced to wonder whether we 
believe what we say. Our ministers and teachers mould the destiny 
of our nation. Both must be paid better wages if they are to en¬ 
dure and “carry on” efficiently in their great work. As compared 
with their worth, good teachers cannot be paid too much. This 
much is certain—they are being paid too little to attract and keep 
good men and women in the profession. They do not expect a for¬ 
tune, but the wolf must be kept away from the door. 

The matter of the consolidated school has been fully discussed 
in the preceding chapter on Schools. This institution, efficiently 
developed, is the solution of the rural school problem. 


Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 105 


Farm Tenancy. 

Farm tenancy, as has been discussed in a preceding chapter, is 
one of the greatest weaknesses in Orangeburg County. We find 
from the 1920 Census that 65.9 per cent, of our farms are operated 
by tenants. From this same authority, we find that 34.2 per cent, 
of the population of Orangeburg County is white, and 65.8 per cent, 
is colored. This condition is one that should not exist, and it is 
gratifying to see that it has improved a little in the past decade. 
We believe a large percentage of our white tenant farmers are not 
satisfied, but instead they are working that some day they will be 
able to operate their own farms. Most of these tenant farmers 
realize the importance as well as the advantages gained if they 
own their farms. They cannot start off by buying a huge farm, 
but instead must be content to begin with a small farm and later 
mortgage this in order to get money to buy more land. This is 
where the banks can play an important part by lending money to 
these farmers when good security is offered. In many instances, 
tenancy cannot be considered an evil, but is one of the necessary 
steps leading to farm ownership; but, where the tenant is work¬ 
ing just to make a living from year to year, it is not an encourag¬ 
ing situation. The United States Government has realized the vast 
importance of farm ownership and through its different depart¬ 
ments is doing a great deal to aid the ambitious young farmer. 
This was one of'the reasons for the Farm Loan Act and the Fed¬ 
eral Land Banks. 

Idle Lands. 

Orangeburg County is the third largest county in the State, and 
has an area of 723,840 acres; 496,306 acres of this land is in farms, 
while 288,277 of this area is improved farming land. That is, we 
have 58.1 per cent, of our farming land improved. We have 275,059 
acres, or 38 per cent, of the total area in Orangeburg county covered 
by woodland. 

There are in the county 8,558 farms with an average of 33.7 acres 
per farm improved. In this respect we rank 15th among the coun¬ 
ties of the State. We find that 68.6 per cent, of the total area is in 
farms and 65.9 per cent of this land is operated by tenants. 

Orangeburg County ranks 5th among the counties of the State 
with 158,079 acres lying idle. Now, if we allow 75 acres to the 
average family of five we have room for 2,107 families, or for 10,539 
more inhabitants in the county. 

What would this addition of 10,539 inhabitants to our rural popu¬ 
lation mean to the county? If these people were a thrifty type of 
citizenship, it would certainly greatly increase our farm wealth 


106 Orangeburg County: Economic and Social. 


as well as the total wealth of the county. If these farmers would 
turn their attention to producing feed crops, which is inevitable 
as a result of the boll weevil, we should be able to reduce our food 
and feed shortage of $6,392,216.94. It would be only the course of 
a few years before we should be able to boast of an over-production 
of food and feed crops. 

With 158,079 acres of Orangeburg soils lying idle, there should 
be almost no excuse for a white tenant farmer who is thrifty and 
ambitious, remaining for long a tenant. 

« 

Livestock. 

At least a large portion of our idle lands could be used for the 
grazing of cattle and swine, which should greatly reduce our meat 
shortage, and at the same time would enable us to retain our money 
at home instead of sending it North and West. The value of all 
livestock on farms in Orangeburg County in 1920 was $4,420,099. 
In the past decade the livestock in the county has increased 51 
per cent., in which respect we ranked eleventh among the counties 
of the State. The farmer can produce poultry and swine on the 
farm more cheaply than he can produce any other meat; for they 
thrive on the surplus and waste products that are found around 
any farm. The price of eggs, chickens and dairy products for the 
past few years has been on such a high level that the farmers of 
Orangeburg County should give these products more of their atten¬ 
tion than they do at the present. The citizens of the towns are not 
in a favorable position to produce all of the above mentioned prod¬ 
ucts, but every household needs more or less of these different com¬ 
modities every day. If the farmers of the county cannot supply 
their needs, why the money is spent out of the county, thus mak¬ 
ing some other county and State just that much richer, while our 
county’s farm wealth has been decreased by that same amount. 
If the people of Orangeburg County could produce these commo¬ 
dities at home it would certainly increase the wealth of the county. 
Orangeburg County needs a closer relation between producer and 
consumer. Co-operative creameries will help dairying. 

The best breeds of livestock should be secured and a sound 
market established for all livestock products. 

Some of the best cattle to be found in the State are in Orange¬ 
burg County. Many of the farmers have long ago realized the great 
benefits derived from raising pure bred cattle. The predominating 
breeds are Jerseys and Holsteins. At the present beef cattle raising 
is undeveloped, but there are good opportunities in this direction. 

The raising of sheep offer great possibilities for livestock, but 
evidently the farmers have not realized this fact. From the 1920 


Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 107 


census report we find that we have only 624 sheep in the county. 
The average of one or more sheep to the. farm would certainly be a 
valuable asset to the county. 

We should raise more horses and mules than we do. The average 
farmer does not give this his consideration; but instead the county 
imports a large number of horses and mules, more especially mules, 
every year from without the State. 

One of the greatest needs of Orangeburg County is to give our 
food and feed crops more attention and less to cotton. We have 
not been self-feeding in the past, but in the future we should strive 
to make Orangeburg County self-feeding and to accomplish this 
we must change our ideas about the one-crop system, the present 
system of tenancy, and improve our local market system. 

It would be a big step in the right direction for the people of 
Orangeburg County to follow the philosophy of Henry Grady, ut¬ 
tered years ago. He said: “When every farmer in the South shall eat 
bread from his own fields and meat from his own pastures and 
disturbed by no condition and enslaved by no debt, shall, amid his 
teeming orchards and vineyards, dairies and barns, pitch his own 
crops in his own wisdom and grow them in independence, making 
cotton and tobacco a clean surplus, and selling these in his own 
time and in his own chosen market and not at a master’s bidding, 
getting pay in cash and not in a receipted mortgage that discharges 
his debt, but does not restore his freedom, then and not until then, 
shall be the breaking of the fullness of a new day.” 

Farm Wealth. 

According to the 1920 Census the total value of all farm property 
in Orangeburg County is $45,680,128. This gives us a per capita farm 
wealth of $792.84. In this respect we ranked 12th among the coun¬ 
ties of the State. The average for the State is $685.78. That is, our 
per capita farm wealth is $107.06 above the average for the State. 
The per capita farm wealth for Iowa is $5,577.18, so you can see we 
are not so rich when we make a comparison without the State. 

The average farmer in Orangeburg County is comparatively poor. 
He has not sufficient funds with which he may improve his land 
or buy improved farm implements, thereby cutting down the cost 
of production and at the same time increasing the returns from the 
farm annually. The lack of cash money is one of the greatest hin¬ 
drances we have to progressive farming. We must have money to 
have good schools, good farms, good roads, and good homes. 

The old saying, “It matters not what a man earns, but what he 
saves is what counts,” still holds good in Orangeburg County. 

Every year in the past the farmer has realized a considerable 
sum for his cotton crop which is immediately sent out of the county 


108 Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 


for the necessities of life, which the farmers themselves could pro¬ 
duce far more cheaply. We have the soil, we have the suitable 
resources and we have the land to produce just as good food and 
feed products as are produced anywhere in the United States. We 
must increase our farm wealth and decrease our food and feed 
deficit by substituting a diversified system of farming for the exclu¬ 
sive growing of cotton. 

Insure the Prosperity of Orangeburg County. 

“If I were Czar of North Carolina instead of the Governor, I 
would issue an edict declaring that, from and after five years from 
date, any man who imported into North Carolina any corn or meal, 
wheat or flour, beef or bacon, should be forthwith hanged and 
without benefit of clergy. Of course, in the beginning I should be 
denounced as an infamous tyrant, but after the law had been in 
effect for ten years the richest S-tate in “The Union would build 
a monument to me as the financial redeemer of the people.” This 
is a statement copied from the Banker-Farmer and was made 
by ex-Governor Bickett while in office. The same statement might 
well apply to Orangeburg County, because one of the greatest needs of 
the county is to produce food products and thus learn to live at 
home. 

Arkansas has some 450 banks and it is a predominantly agricul¬ 
tural State. The Arkansas bankers have decided to force the farm¬ 
ers to diversify by offering credit on a “no-food and feed crops, no 
credit,” basis. 

A farmer who has hay in the barn, corn in the crib, meat in 
smoke-house, and with poultry, eggs, and cream to sell, will be in 
a good position to expect credit from the banks. The farmer may 
plant cotton to the extent that he wishes, but he should plant more 
food crops. 

It is out of the channels of the banking business to try and dic¬ 
tate to the farmer what crops he shall plant, but they can help him 
to determine what crops are best for him to plant by: 

1. Lending no money for the purpose of buying feed. 

2. Lending no money to the merchant for buying feed who expects 
to sell it to the farmer. 

3. Lending money to the farmer only when he has sufficient acre¬ 
age to produce food and feed for the people and animals on his farm. 

4. A suggested basis for feed acreage as taken from government 
reports is as follows: Five acres corn, two acres hay crops for 
each work animal, and ample acreage in feed and hay crops and 
pasturage for the cows, hogs and other animals on the place. 


Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 109 


The Boll Weevil. 

Few counties in South Carolina have been harder hit by the boll 
weevil than Orangeburg. Experience, coupled with grit and per¬ 
tinacity, have done wonders already in numbers of instances towards 
combatting the pest. Much remains yet to be done to make control 
measures adapted to the conditions of the average and tenant 
farmer. The following report of the Southern Agricultural Workers’ 
Convention rendered by a committee appointed to look into the situ¬ 
ation is designated by the Southern Ruralist as “eminently fair to 
every interest concerned, and faithful to the interest of the growers.’’ 

“1. Even under the most intelligent farming, boll weevil infesta¬ 
tion increases the risk in cotton production. Therefore, of first 
importance is a “live-at-home’’ program, with something to sell 
besides cotton. This fundamental fact cannot be too strongly 
emphasized by your committee at the very outset of this report. 

“2. Even though an ample supply of calcium arsenate were avail¬ 
able at a reasonable cost, probably not 10 per cent, of the cotton 
acreage of the South would be poisoned by all known methods of 
application. Therefore, those proven cultural methods which tend 
to insure great production and give direct aid in controlling the 
weevil damages cannot be too strongly stressed. These include: 

(a) The use of well drained, fertile soil. 

(b) Good seed of standard early maturing varieties. 

(c) The use of ample seed in order to insure a good stand. 

(d) Closer spacing than under non-boll weevil conditions. 

(e) Intensive, careful cultivation. 

(f) Liberal fertilization to induce quick growth and stimulate 
early maturity. 

(g) Where practicable the early destruction of cotton stalks in 
the fall and of hibernating places in the field. 

“In addition to the above, when poisoning is not contemplated, 
and inexpensive labor is available, the picking up and destruction 
of all punctured or infested squares for a period of 30 days will 
prove beneficial. 

“3. Of the various methods of control involving the use of poison 
your committee recommends the calcium arsenate dusting method 
and the Florida method. There are no other methods having as yet 
the sanction of .adequate scientific proof. The limitations of the 
calcium arsenate dusting method lie in the fact that it has been 
found profitable only on lands capable of producing one-third to 
one-half bale per acre or more, that it requires a maximum of 
calcium arsenate, and that it must be applied at night and by the 
use of machinery. Aside from these limitations, its worth, through 


110 Orangeburg County : Economic and Social. 


several years and under varying conditions, has been fully and con¬ 
clusively demonstrated not only by the experiment stations, but by 
practical farmers throughout the cotton belt. 

“The Florida method has been found adapted to the conditions 
in that State and has the virtue of being adapted to lands of low 
productivity. This method can undoubtedly be applied with success 
in adjacent sections where the season conditions are the same as 
those in Florida. Whether this method will succeed elsewhere has 
not been determined and cannnot be until further studies of weevil 
hibernation and related factors are made. It is urged that the 
experiment stations in the cotton growing States as speedily as pos¬ 
sible determine the adaptability of this method to their respective 
States. 

“4. Your committee is without the scientific proof that would 
enable it to give a definite opinion as to the effectiveness of the 
molasses arsenate treatment. However, prominent and progressive 
farmers in South Carolina and other States claim for it a very 
decisive measure of control and experiments at the government 
laboratory at Tallulah indicate a certain measure of control in the 
early stages of the infestation when the cotton plants are small. 
Your committee, therefore, believes that this method deserves and 
should receive a thorough and immediate test by the experiment 
stations and the government. 

“5. Your committee would remind the public that the solution 
of any great scientific problem such as boll weevil control is likely 
to be the work of many scientists extending over a period of years 
and at an expenditure of considerable money. Prompt and adequate 
support of experiment station projects along this line by the legis¬ 
latures of the cotton States is an essential element in the early 
solution of this, the most important problem confronting the cot¬ 
ton growers of the South. In times of emergency, such as the pres¬ 
ent, numerous panaceas will be proposed. It is a safe assumption 
that most of these will prove worthless to the farmer, however 
profitable to their promoters. Care and economy should be exercised 
in their purchase and use. 

“As the responsible agencies for scientific research in the States, 
the agricultural colleges can recommend to the people only such 
methods as have been fully established by adequate and dependa- * 
ble scientific data. Until such proof shall be available, new or un¬ 
tried methods and devices should be used with caution with 
a view of testing their efficiency rather than depending upon them 
for successful control.” 







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